The Hero Without a Half Shell
by piperup1030
Summary: Just a bunch of sweet stories of the brothers and their sister (my OC, Emily).
1. Are monsters real?

_My brothers… gone. Blood stained the ground and hidden in the shadows was a man, tall with a blood-stained blade hanging in his hand. _

_I looked onto the red ground; Leo, Raph, Donnie… they were all dead, you could still see the blood running out of their stab wounds. I suddenly noticed something; My sister, Emily, she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the room, trying to see if she was somewhere I couldn't see; a corner, behind or above something._

_A loud, high pitched scream echoed through the sewer. "Emily?!" I yelled, hoping for a reply… nothing. I began to run towards the area the scream had come from. Another yell ran through my ears. 'Where is she?' I thought to myself. _

_More screams, more yelling her name, more worry. I put my hands over my head out fear and stress. I lost all my siblings too that man, I didn't know where Splinter was, I was all on my own… I'm all alone. _

_I fell to my knees. I decided to just sit there, my head in my hands and heavy tears rolled down my face. _

_One single thought played in my head over and over; "You're all alone, you're all alone, you're… all… alone… _

"Emily!" I woke up when I heard a voice call my name. I propped myself up and looked at the clock next to my bed, 2:42 a.m. 'Well, I'm awake, mine as well see what's up' I thought to myself. I hoisted myself out of bed and left the room out to the hallway. I remembered the sound coming from the right of me, so I turned that way to see who it was. A sticker labeled 'Mikey' was stuck onto the door. I turned the handle and stepped inside, making sure everything was ok.

What I saw scared me. Mikey was propped up on his bed, tear stains on his cheeks accompanied with fresh ones. I quickly ran to his side and sat next to him, "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Bad dream." He mumbled. Mikey didn't usually have nightmares, but when he did, they sucked.

I grabbed him under his arms and hoisted him over to sit by me, so his legs where across my thighs. "What was it this time?"

He looked up at me, his baby blue eyes were puffy and red. "I lost you guys. Splinter was gone. The boys were dead…" A sob escaped his throat and tears flooded down his face. I pulled him into my chest and rubbed his shell, doing all I could to give him some comfort.

"And…" he started to finish, "You were screaming, and I didn't know where you were… I couldn't find you… I didn't know…"

"Shh," I whispered to him soothingly, "I'm here… I'm right here."

"Emiliah?" Mikey said. I looked at him, waiting for him to ask what he wanted, at the same time surprised that he said my full name. He never does (mostly because he can barely every pronounce it correctly). "Promise me you won't leave." He said, eyes wide.

"Never… I'll never leave. I promise," I told him. It took me a few seconds to figure out what he really ment. He knows that I'm wanted. He doesn't want me to die. "It's gonna take a whole lot to take me down." I said smiling.

He threw his arms around my shoulders and put his head in the crook of my neck. We were both fifteen, but too me he's my baby brother, and I felt that as an older sibling I had to keep him safe. I held him close.

"Are monsters real?" He asked me at one point. I laughed at his innocent question.

"It depends on what you mean by a monster. If you mean a big hairy beast that hides under your bed, than no. But if you mean someone really scary…" I paused, and looked down at my hands "...a freak…" A memory flashed in my head; I literally made a kid _cry _because of my freaky appearance once. My stupid scars, my messed up black-and-white hair, my fang- like canine teeth, the fire. I'm a freak. But I'm not gonna let that get to me… not in front of my brother. I looked at him dead in the eye; "those monsters are real." I said firmly.

"Am I a monster?" He asked. I pulled him into a hug, "no… no Mikey, you're not."

"Are you?"

I paused, not knowing what to say. I finally decided to give him an answer; "I think so."

"Is that why people wanna hurt you?"

"...I think so." I whispered. Mikey was silent after that, until he started to sob again. I held him close, like he was a little kid. It wasn't until about ten minutes later when I realized I also had tears in my eyes when I drew in a shaky breath. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and said to Mikey; "I'm strong. I'm not gonna let anybody hurt me or you or the boys or Splinter or April or anybody. Ok?"

"Ok." Mikey said with a weak smile.

"I love you Michelangelo."

He sighed "Love you too Em."

I waited until his breaths were steady, until he fell asleep. I kissed him on the forehead and laid him back down in bed. After that I did my best to sneak out of the room into the hallway once again. Once I closed the door, I looked around the wide area and saw a tall figure. "Hey Donnie." I said sleepily.

"Mikey have a bad dream?" He said, same tired tone in his voice.

"Yeah, but he's asleep now. What are you doing up so late?"

"I was working in my lab. I heard Mikey, but when I saw you go into his room I figured you had it covered. You're actually really good, if I was in there he'd be up for another hour."

"Really?" This is only my first time being around Mikey right after a nightmare. I'm usually asleep when it happens. Donnie is the one that's normally with Mikey.

"Anyways, we should both get to bed." I said. "Splinter wouldn't be happy if he knew we were up at 3:30."

"Yeah. Night Em." Yawned Don.

"See ya Donnie."


	2. Freak

"GUYS!" Donnie screamed through his lab. We all rain in, probably breaking the door (something for him to just fix later). "The foot clan are on the rooftops!"

"Who's with them?" Asked Leo.

"Um…" Donnie looked at one of the cameras we had set up a few nights before. "Looks like a couple of footbots and… oh no."

"What?" I said, concerned.

"Xever, Dogpound, _and _Tigerclaw." Said Donnie. Worried faces fell upon my brothers and April. Xever and Dogpound alone was a challenge, plus somebody practically as good as the shredder himself.

"We… we can take 'em." Assured Raph, pounding his fist.

"I sure hope so." Said Donnie. "Emily, I need you to stay in lair with this headset," He handed me something that looked like it belonged to a video game console, just a pair of headphones with a microphone. "I'll be able to talk to you through this," He picked up a small piece of plastic. "It's easier than a T-phone, and this way I can talk to you immediately. April, you'll be here too."  
"Got it." I said. I put on the headset and sat down in front of donnie's laptop. He gave me a weird look and motioned toward the computer. I turned and looked at the screen, noticing the picture of April on his desktop. I quickly changed it to the other red and black one, and smiled at my older brother. I had his back.

Leo began to speak to me and April, "Splinter is in a deep meditation trance, and probably won't be out of it until later tonight, so you guys are in charge of the lair, and you gotta help us out if anything goes wrong". Raph rolled his eyes when he said the last bit.

"Okay, Donnie, before you leave can you show me how this thing works?" I said pointing at the headset.

"Oh yeah, that would probably be helpful… won't it?" He laughed, "like this. 'speak'." After he said that, I heard a loud beeping noise in my ear, causing me to jump. "Well, that works. Now to speak to me push the blue button."

I felt around the side of the headset until I found the fingernail-sized button, and pushed it.

"Can you hear me?" Asked Donnie. I nodded. "Awesome," he said, "ok we gotta go! See you guys!"

"Bye!" April yelled.

"Be safe!" I chimed in.

Splinter came out of the dojo about 45 minutes later. "Good evening, girls." He said, a relaxed tone in his voice, as if he was only half out of his trance.

"Hey, sensei. Your out of your meditation period a little early, you ok?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just… something feels empty." He sighed.

Suddenly a loud noise blared through my ear, again, causing me to jump. I quickly realized what it was, and reached to press the button on my headset. "Donnie…?" I said into the microphone. Seconds passed, no answer. "Donatello… Donatello?!" I repeated, beginning to get a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Em….. Em, we need help." He breathed.

"I'm…I'm on my way, Just hang in there." I turned off the headset and ripped it off my head. "April, come on, get in the shellariser."

"What's wrong?!" She asked eyes wide.

"That's the point! I don't know!" by now I was so worried I was practically shouting, "c'mon!"

I slipped on shoes and my black jacket and jumped the gate that lead out onto the subway tracks, April at my heels. Luckily, they had left the shellraiser here, so we hopped in and took stations. I was driving and April was in Donnie's place, to give directions and a back view. I made sure I had my weapon ( a battle axe with an extended handle), and it was on the floor of the vehicle from the night before.

"There they are! On top of that building, 6118!" April yelled. I could spot Tigerclaw's silhouette in the moonlit night. I quickly turned into the alley and jumped out of the subway car, my axe in a sheath attached to my back, and April's tessen was clutched her hand. We began climbing the fire escape to see the horrifying scene that awaited us at the the top of the building.

The boys were laying on the ground knocked out cold, covered in bruises and scratches. Dogpound and Xever where probably dealt with, for they were nowhere to be seen. Two out of seven footbots were still standing, and Tigerclaw was looming over my brothers, a sword raised above his head.

A this moment, I did a Raphael. No thinking, I just charged right to Tigerclaw, kicking him in the side, knocking the sword out of his paws and throwing him completely off balance. He landed on his back, and a grunt of pain escaped his ugly muzzle.

"April, you get the footbots, I'll take care of Puss 'n Boots over here!" I yelled to April. Within seconds she was throwing powerful kicks and swings at the bug-eyed robots.

Tigerclaw got up, his sword dangling in his hand. "Look who it is? It seems that the princess is now the knight in shining armor." He harassed.

"Oh please, I was never anything close to a princess in the first place." I decided I was gonna play his little game.

He swung at me, aiming for my leg, but luckily after having four rowdy ninjas as brothers, my reflexes were razor sharp. I darted to the side, him missing me by millimeters. In the time it took him to recover so from the missed swing, I jabbed him in the stomach with the end of my axe, causing him to stumble back.

"Guess I shouldn't go easy on ya'" He growled. This time when he swung at me, he meant business. He swung hard, complicating strikes, yet, none of them hit me. I was almost as good as Splinter and shredder themselves, and was better than all my brothers, so I'm a challenge. I'm proud of that.

We each got a few good hits, but one sent me off my feet. I flew into a brick wall.

Tigerclaw chuckled to himself. He had his sword in his hand once more. He walked off toward the four turtles to finish them off. I had to get up… I have to get up.

Suddenly, a huge adrenaline rush came to me. I got to my feet, but I was still injured. I had a limp in my step and I had to go steady. I put the blade of my axe on the ground and dragged it, hoping for Tigerclaw to get my attention. Luckily it worked. His ears perked up when he heard the loud screech of metal scratching concrete. A sincere look of anger came across his face. My plan worked, I got him away from my brothers. The only person he wanted to hurt was me.

"Did you really think it was gonna be that easy?" I teased.

"You may be hard to break, but these claws can scratch through diamond." He growled. A deep, menacing, powerful sound.

I smirked. "Doubt it." I charged him, suddenly over my limp. I used my axe like a bat, and hit him with the side of the blades. I threw powerful kicks and punches. He recovered and did the same. We were evenly matched.

His sword was pressed up against the long handle of my axe, forming an X. Nobody could move.

"Why are you even defending these mutants anyway? Who are you?" He asked through heavy breaths and clenched jaws.

I laughed. "The name's Emily," I threw a heavy kick at his stomach, "and the reason why I'm protecting the turtles… they're my brothers."

"But you're not a mutant." He had his sword to my throat. I casually moved the blade away from my face with the back of my hand. "I may not be a mutant," I once again kicked the sword out of his paw, "but I surely am a freak."

I punched him in the face and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying. He bashed into the same brick wall that I did no less than ten minutes ago. He was knocked out cold.

I turned to April. I saw her swing her tessen at the last robot one last time, and it collapsed onto the ground. I dramatically fell onto my knees and stuck my hands up in the air and cheered. "We won!" Yelled April. We high-fived, and quickly ran over to the turtles.

"Good they're all breathing. I'm gonna go get wings from the Shellraiser, you keep an eye on these guys." I climbed down the fire escape to retrieve some two pairs of my brother's wings from the Shellraiser.  
When I got back up to the rooftop, Donnie was awake and mumbling to April. I ran over and yelled "Donnie!" I kneeled down by him. "Donnie, me and April are gonna take you home, ok?"

"O...ok," he groaned, "what about… Tigerclaw."

"That's taken care of, the only thing you need to worry about is staying awake." April said, Donnie's head resting in her hands. She carefully set him down and slipped on the wings.

"You know how to work these things right?" I asked her.

"Yep."

"Awesome. You get Donnie and Mikey and I'll get Leo and Raph."

I strapped on a pair of wings and picked up Leo. I gave April Donnie and Mikey to pick up because I knew that they're the lightest, and I'm abnormally strong for my age. I headed towards the edge of the building and jumped, landing safely by the Shellraiser. I layed down Leo in the open area we have in back for medical purposes. It's big enough to fit four people. Donnie was awake so we sat him in Mikey's place.

After everybody was loaded April and I hopped into the positions we were in before. I did my best to get home quickly as possible, the boys needed attention.

Once we pulled into the subway I sped towards the opening that lead into the lair. I hit the breaks and jumped out of the car.

"April, get two of them on the couch. I can fetch extra mattresses." I ran inside to a closet where we keep a few extra mattresses, blankets, and pillows (don't ask why, 'cuz I really have no idea). I dragged two out into the living room, and brought out Leo and Raph.

We went around and checked their vital signs. "There breathing is fine," I told April, "and there heartbeats seem normal. They'll probably wake up later tonight.

April yawned. "Awesome. Hey it's getting late, is it ok if I got to bed?" She asked, pointing at her bedroom. I wasn't tired at all, "yeah that's fine. I'm gonna stay here 'till they wake up, which could be late. Night."

April yawned one last time, "Night."

I woke up to the feeling of my head pounding. I was laying on a mattress on the living room floor with Leo on another one next to me. I looked up and saw Emily laying on the couch. She had a bruise above her eve and a big cut on her lip, also her knee was bandaged from her knee cap to her ankle. She looked down and saw me awake, "look who's awake. How ya feelin'?"

"My head hurts." I groaned. I got up and sat next to her. She was watching a geeky cartoon that she liked. "Ponies, really?"

She laughed, "I like this show, deal with it."

I sat through for about five minutes, until I realized that I had no Idea what was going on. "Hey, can you please tell me what happened tonight?"

"You guys got five out of seven footbots, and Xever and Dogpound left. Tigerclaw knocked you out, but Donnie managed to get ahold of me. April got the footbots and I took out Tigerclaw."

"Wait… by _yourself?_" I knew my sister was strong but… how much is she really capable of?

"Yeah, knocked him out. Than we got you guys home around ten, and I think it's just past midnight."

Within the next five minutes, everybody was up (Emily also had to explain the earlier events of the night three more times) and on the couch by Emily. Donnie and Leo just looked dazed, and Mikey was just tired, he had his head on Em's shoulder and was snoring.

"I'm gonna take Mikey to bed." Emily picked Mikey up and carried to his room.

"Do you know what confuses me…" Leo randomly said, "...Em never really hurts us in training, like, the least she does is trip us, but when it comes to the enemies, she knocks 'em out in a heartbeat. I can name five enemies who are scared of her."

"Emily is capable, of many things, she is much more than meets the eye," said splinter walking through the door of the dojo, "but at the same time, she is afraid of her own power."

"But why?" Asked Donnie.

"That I am not sure of, but I'm almost positive she has a reason."

Emily walked through Mikey's door and sat next to us. She sighed "poor kids' got a big bruise on his head. I'll check in the morning."

Twenty minutes went by until Emily fell asleep. We all headed to bed, and I carried her to her room.

One she was in her bed, I just looked at her and thought to myself 'what made you who you are today?' She never gave us a full history of her past. All we know is that she lived in a foster home until she was five, when we adopted her. She told us her parents died in a car crash... but she had no idea about the long scar across her face, and she thinks the thick black line in her blonde hair was a reaction to mutagen. Same as the fire she can conduct from her hands. Emily is not your normal kid.

**What do you guys think? The only thing I own is Emily.**


	3. Thundering Memories

A loud clap of thunder clap of thunder boomed overhead, shaking me awake. I leaned over and turned the knob on my little lamp. The bulb stayed blank.

'_Darnit, power's out' _I thought to myself.  
I heard one of the doors next to me creep open. I hopped out of bed and walked to my bedroom door, just to check if everything was alright.

Donnie was standing in his doorway, a scared look on his face. Another loud boom of thunder came overhead, and Donatello ran towards me, crying. I hugged him and rubbed his shell, trying to tell him that thunder was just a reaction to lightning, which was caused by electrons in clouds. You know, scientific terms. But that didn't seem to help.

"It's still scary though." He whispered. I took him into my room and he climbed up onto my bed and put his head on my shoulder. He practically jumped out of his shell at every clap of thunder. I held him tight.

After a few minutes, Mikey entered the room. His face was also tear streaked. I opened up my one open arm, and he ran into me without hesitation. He buried his head in the crook of my neck and sniffled. Donnie was now sitting on my lap, and my arm was around his shoulders. I slightly rocked the two crying boys, humming a song we had heard on the radio that day. The tune was still fresh in my mind.

Leo ran into my room and climbed on my bed, making us all jump from when he knocked open the door. He snuggled up next to Mikey and me, making him really squished, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Are you scared of the storm?" I asked him. He nodded, and buried his face into my side.

"Now if only Raph were here..." I said. Almost on cue Raph walked through the door.

"Um... once I realized that all you were here, I thought... why not join?"

"So... You're not here because of the storm?" I playfully teased him.

"Nope." He stuck up his head and said. Another clap of thunder roared through the night, and Raph screamed. His face turned as red as his mask. "Um... hehe... you got room for one more?" He said, embarrassed.

"Oh, come here." I said. He ran over and sat on my right side, resting his head on my shoulder.

Donnie and Mikey were still crying, but comforted that all their siblings were there. Leo had Mikey under his arm, and I rocked Donnie. Donnie was small, so it wasn't really hard.

I started to hum again. Before I knew it I was singing;

_I am with you, _

_I will carry you through it all. _

_I won't leave you, _

_I will catch you, _

_When you feel like letting go, _

'_Cuz you're not… _

… _You're not alone. _

_And I will be your hope, _

_When you're feelin' like it's over. _

_And I will pick you up, _

_When your whole world shatters. _

_**Donnie's POV**_

We all sat there and listened to Emily's sweet voice. To the average person, looking up and seeing her black & white hair, huge scar across her face, and dark eyes frightening, but to us it was family, loving. She got that scar protecting us.

"_Put him down!" Emily screamed at the Shredder. He had Leo at the throat. Me and Raph were holding her back, and Mikey was racing back to the lair to get Splinter. _

_Leo's face was turning blue. Emily broke free from our grasp. "Fight me instead," She screamed, "put him down!" _

_Shredder dropped Leo, and he landed with a thud. He lumbered toward Emily, his metal armor making a 'clink' sound. Her eyes shone. Not with fear, but intensity. She had a metal pipe in her hand, prepared to use it anyway she could. _

_Shredder swung. "NO!" I yelled. Emily dodged it with ease. In return she threw the rusty pipe at his face, hitting him right in the eye. He yelled out in pain. "Now you're gonna pay!" He yelled. _

_This time he hit Emily. She stumbled back, but her strong self recovered quickly. _

_Six-year-old Emily was fighting the Shredder. Six-year-old Emily was fighting the Shredder for us. _

_Shredder swung his gauntlet. It got her. She fell to the ground, blood falling from her face. We all ran to her, Shredder was walking away laughing to himself. _

_I took Emily's hand, "Em, can you hear me?" I begged. I panicked when I realized she wasn't breathing. _

_Hot tears formed in my eyes. "Emily!" I cried. _

_" Is he gone?" Emily mumbled. _

_"Yeah.… yeah he's gone" Raph said. _

_Emily shot up into a sitting position, making us all jump. She drew in a huge breath of air. "Oh god..." she gasped, "I don't think… I could've… held my breath... any longer." She was smiling when she said this. She couldn't open her right eye, because there was so much blood covering it, and her knuckles were white from clenching her fists so hard. It was amazing that she could smile in so much pain. _

_She saw that I was crying and quickly drew me into her arms. "Don't scare me like that!" I sobbed. _

_"I'm sorry, Donnie." She said, rubbing my shell. _

_"C'mon, we gotta get you home." Leo said. _

_Emily groaned. "It burns." _

_We walked to the lair. "Emily, you saved my life," I heard Leo say, "thank you." I looked over, and saw tears running down Leo's face. _

Remembering the horrifying memory made me cry even harder. Shredder had forever marked my sister.

"You ok?" Emily asked me. I shook my head no. She drew me in closer to her chest, "What's wrong?"

"It's just…," a sob came from my throat, I couldn't help it. "Remember when you got your scar?"

A look of surprise came over her face. Leo looked down. At that point I could feel my lip quivering. I threw my arms around her neck and put my head on her shoulder. I drew in shaky breaths and tears flooded down my face.

"Oh, Donnie," she said, "that was two years ago, I'm ok now." She squeezed me and rubbed gentle circles around my shell.

Emily hadn't been living with us at the time, we adopted her when she was seven, but we met her when she was four and a half. But even then to us she was basically a sister. Even then she would've died for us.

Splinter walked in. He smiled when he saw the pile of turtles (and girl). A look of sympathy came to his eyes when he saw me. He walked over and picked me up. "My son."

He hugged me. "Is everybody alright?" He asked.

"Don't worry father, everything's fine." Emily smiled. Another round of thunder boomed, an Raph screamed again. "And that is why we are all in my room." Said Emily.

"Ah, I see." He sat down next to Leo, Mikey, and Em, setting me into his lap. I was still crying, the mix of booming thunder and the bloody memory wasn't helping me. "Donatello, what's the matter?" Asked Splinter.

When I didn't answer, he asked me if it was from the storm, shook my head no. "Than what could it be?"

I looked up. Emily had a sympathetic smile on her lips. I threw myself towards her once more. I didn't know that was wrong with me, I was _breaking. _

I wiped away my tears and managed to say; "Remember when… Emily… got her scar?"

Splinter's face fell. Emily wrapped her other arm around me, and my brother's returned the favor, all of them hugging me. I could feel the smile on my face, but the tears still cascaded. Splinter joined in.

The next thing I know I'm in my bed, shaking from the nightmare. The horrifying image of Shredder cutting Emily was still replaying over and over in my head. I couldn't help it. I got up and ran to her room, just for tonight.

I didn't bother knocking, I just opened the door. She looked up at me, "Donnie," she smiled.

"Can I just stay with you for tonight?" I asked.

She immediately moved over, "please." She said.

I ran over and tussled with the blankets. Due to the mutigen, another trait that came along with the power to conduct fire was that Emily's body heated up when she slept, so the bed was really warm.

She looked at me, her eyes wide, "wanna see somethin' cool?" She asked. I eagerly nodded my head.

She raised her hands above her head. From them, she produced a light. I could feel the comforting heat projecting off the soft glow. What was cool about it was that it wasn't fire, just… light. She plopped her hands onto her chest. "That's what Splinter's been teaching me. I'm starting to get the hang of it." She smiled a toothy grin.

Emily rolled onto her side, "G'night." She said. I said the same thing. She hummed the same sweet melody she was earlier until I drifted into sleep.

**My first Turtle Tots story! So, what do you guys think? Requests? **

**The song I used is **_**Not Alone **_**By **_**Red.**_


	4. Slash has Destroyed

I sat down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. My throbbing head hung in my hands. The battle against Slash was a mighty challenge, nobody got away without some kind of injury. Leo and Mikey were each coated in scratches and bruises, but luckily they were already healing, but Donnie and Emily got away with more serious wounds. Donnie's sprained arm hung in a cloth sling, and Emily was on crutches with a walking boot was on her left foot, for she had severely bruised the bone.

As for me, I was about the same as Leo and Mike, but my head wouldn't stop hurting! It was like somebody was trapped inside, banging against my skull with a sledgehammer.

I felt something touch my shoulder, and I practically jumped out of my shell. I suddenly was on high alert and quickly spun around. Thankfully, it was just my little sister, Emily.

"Jesus, you scared me." I said, letting out a breath of air. She quickly drew her hand back, "sorry," she said.

"Don't… don't worry." I said.

A worried look came across her face. "You look horrible." She hobbled away on her crutches and disappeared into the lab, only to reappear with an ice pack and bandages.

She propped her crutches up onto the side of the couch and fell down next to me. Emily than cautiously adjusted herself so she was facing me, her walking boot hanging off of the couch.

She began to unwrap the bandage. "Now come here, you're in bad shape." She insisted.

"Emily I'm fine, really," I lied. My head was still throbbing.

"Raphael, please let me help you." She rested her hand on my arm. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head towards her. Her gentle hands removed my mask and wrapped the bandage around my head with ease. After that she put the bandana around my eyes once again and laid the ice pack on top of the large bruise on my head.

"There," she said, satisfaction in her tone of voice. "That should help it get better, but just to be safe you should take it easy."

I turned on the TV, hoping something actually good would be on at this time of night. While I was flipping channels that weird pony show that Emily liked came on. I decided to leave it, for her own benefit.

Halfway through the show I looked over at her, and noticed a long black & purple bruise on her jawline. Without thinking I reached out and lightly touched it. She winced in pain, "ow!" She exclaimed. I drew my hand back as quick as I could, "SORRY!"

"Don't worry, it's fine." She assured me, "I know you didn't mean to hurt me." She gave a weak smile.

"How did that happen?" I asked my sister.

"…Slash right-hooked me," she grumbled. I got mad at myself when I heard her say that something that was my fault injured her. I could feel tears stinging my eyes and rolling down my cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Asked Emily, concerned. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders, and drawing me in closer to her.

"It's all my fault…" is all I could manage to muster out of me. I hid my face in my hands out of shame and embarrassment. I wasn't one to break down, and when I did I hated it. I didn't wanna fall apart in front of my sister, but I couldn't help it. I cried.

"No it's not," Emily firmly stated, "you had no idea that the mutagen would spill, and you had no control over him. You were just mad and-"

"That's the point!" I said, cutting her off, "I can't control my stupid temper. I'm scared that one day I'm… I'm…" I struggled to find the right words.

"Gonna lose it and hurt somebody." She said, staring at the floor. "I know that fear… better than anyone." She looked up at me, her dark eyes swarmed with pain, and… something else I just couldn't decipher. She sighed and sank deeper into the worn-out couch.

I rested my hand on hers. She jumped on me, grasping around my shoulders and her head in the crook my neck. I returned the sudden movement, and heard a sob from my throat echo throughout the lair. Tears ran down both of our faces. My teeth where clenched so tightly that it hurt, so that no more sobs escaped from me.

"Raph…" she whispered, "... it's okay."

And with that I loosened up. I opened up my throat and unclenched my sore jaw. With each sob she held me closer, her thick hair sticking to my lips and cheeks.

I suddenly noticed how warm Emily felt. Her body temperature was usually around 110 degrees fahrenheit, but she felt way over that. "Emily, you're burning up!"

She pulled away and touched her forehead with the back of her hand. She looked pale. Emily went into a coughing fit.

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a wet cloth and water bottle. By the time I got back her coughing had eased. I set the towel on her forehead and gave her the water bottle. She gave me a smile and drank the water. After she finished she said; "what… just happened?" At least she said it with a smile.

"I really don't know."

Emily just laughed and lied down on her back. Her head was propped up on a throw pillow and her eyes were closed. I lied down next to her and rested my head on her shoulder. I could feel the same darn stinging feeling in my eyes again.

Emily rolled over on her side. "What's wrong?" The same question she asked me just about fifteen minutes before. Part of her head was pressed into the pillow, so I could only see half of her face.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just… scared." I said quietly. She kissed the side of my head and wrapped her arm around me, pulling me into a hug.

I reached over for the remote and turned off the TV, and fell asleep next to her.

**Sorry this took so long, I got a severe case of writer's block, but I thought of this and here it is. BTW this is not a Tcest story!**


	5. Leo's Horror

I jumped the subway gate that lead into the lair. I had just gotten home. Today had been a slow day, training and we didn't see anything suspicious on patrol, so I decided to get some fresh air. By the time I got into the lair it was _late. _It had to be at least 3:30a.m. and everybody was asleep.

I hung up my loose leather coat onto our old and rickety rack and kicked off my lace-up leather boots.

I opened the door to the lab, and (as usual) Donnie was asleep, his head resting on his desk. I walked over and carefully shook him awake, "Donnie?"

"Hmn?" He groggily mumbled. His eyes were red from sleep.

"You're gonna get a crick in your neck if you sleep like that," I said quietly, "c'mon, you gotta go to sleep 'n your own bed."

Donnie was still half asleep, so I had to hold his hand as we walked to his room. Once we got inside he practically collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep within seconds. I couldn't help but giggle to myself.

I pulled the covers over him and kissed him on the head. After I left the room, I could hear… like, a whimpering noise from across the hall. The bedroom belonged to Leo.

'_Is Leo having a nightmare?' _I opened his door and stepped inside, and for the first time I noticed how much louder the whimpering had gotten.

Leo was breathing hard, and the blankets on his bed where knotted around him. "No!" He yelled at one point. I had to get him out of there.

"Leo!" I said, shaking his arm. He shot up with a yelp, and cornered himself in-between the walls next to his bed, hugging his knees to his chest. His eyes were super wide and he was shaking like crazy.

"Leo…" I reached out and touched his bicep. He looked over at me, his eyes showed that he was scared. I pulled over the covers and sat next to him. I rubbed his shell, like I did when we were kids.

He threw his arms around me. "Oh, Emily!" He started to sob uncontrollably.

"Leo, what happened?" I asked him, hugging him tight.

"He took you guys! He took Splinter and Raph and Donnie and Mikey and you! I failed!" I could feel my shoulder being soaked, but at that time I didn't care.

"Leo, who is 'he'?"

"I don't know, but he took you and and killed you and-"

"Leonardo…" I said, "he's not real. You didn't fail, it was just a dream."

"But it felt so real." He whimpered. The dream must've been horrible, because Leo was pretty shaken. My eldest brother, fearless, wasn't fearless.

_**Leo's POV **_

Mikey's throat was slit.

Raph was stabbed through his shell.

Donnie was beaten to death.

Emily was hung.

And I stood there, powerless. I had been chained to a wall, my throat hurt from how much I was yelling. The man laughed as he one by one took each of my younger siblings lives.

But I woke up, somebody was shaking me awake. I looked up, and Emily was bent over he with her hand gripping my shoulder. Her dark eyes looked black, giving her a rather creepy appearance. She whispered my name, but I could barely heard her from the buzzing noise in my ears. She eased herself down next to me, rubbing her hand on my shell. I could feel the heat coming off her. Emily heated up when she was asleep or scared.

I hugged her. I needed something to hold onto, to bring me back to complete reality.

"Leo, what happened?" She asked me at one point. I did my best to answer her, but all that came out was sobs. I told her how the guy killed everyone and that I failed.

But she told me it was just a dream. And it was. But… but it didn't feel like it.

I also couldn't stop crying. I tried my best not to show weakness in front of my little brothers and sister, because I knew they looked up at me. But at that point I was breaking my own rule, because Emily was fourth youngest and I was totally out of it.

"Shh…" she said, "it was a bad dream. I'm here and so is everybody else. Everybody's fine." She slowly rocked me from side to side. My head was still on her shoulder and my arms were still draped around her, and she was still hugging me around the middle of my shell.

"What if the guy's real?" I asked her, not being able to stop myself from sounding like a freaking four-year-old.

"Well, Leo. If the man that killed us all in your nightmare is real, I am going to punch him." A half sob half laugh came out of me. Emily chuckled and held me tighter.

I lifted up my head, only to see her looking at me. She touched my cheek with her hand. "Leo, you are not a failure." Is what she said. "You lead our team in our darkest times. You pick us up off our feet when we collapse. You think of the gameplay. That is not a failure. That's a leader. That's a hero." She said all this with a smile.

I smiled back at her and hugged her tighter, if that was even possible.

"Want me to stay the night?" She asked me, the toothy smile still on her face. I nodded.

She quickly ran out of the room, only to return a minute later in a tee-shirt and sweatpants. She crawled in bed next to me. I could feel her grab my hand.

"'You ok?" She asked me.

I squeezed her hand back, "yeah, thanks."

She smiled. I could still feel the dryness in my eyes, so I was guessing they were still bloodshot. I rubbed them, hoping for some relief. I drifted off into sleep.

I shot up. My throat was all closed up and my eyes were leaking tears. Panic overwhelmed me, and I was breathing hard and shaking like mad.

A pair of arms wrapped around me, and I yelped once again, thinking it was the deranged man from my nightmare. I started to struggle, and it wasn't until I felt a pair of lips on my cheek that I realized that it was only Emily.

I loosened up, but sobs and shakes still coursed through my body.

"Shh..." She hummed, "Leo, everything's okay, it was just a nightmare." She once again started to rock me. Emily kissed my cheek, hoping to calm me.

"Here, lie down." She said. I eased my head onto the pillow, Emily still sitting up.

She made a ball of light, and the soft amber glow flooded my room. It was calming, I don't know why but it just was.

"Just a nightmare…" I heard Emily whisper. I once again fell into a horror-free slumber.

**Yay I finished, Thank you guys for reading! Requests/Suggestions are open!**


	6. How it All Started

Okay… how do I start this… My name is Emiliah (Em-i-ly-ah. Like the word 'Lie', as in 'telling a lie.'. Remember that.) but everyone calls me Emily. I'm a loner. Nobody talks to me, and honestly, I have no idea why. I'm like anybody else. Well, not really, I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was two. But, I'm the same as anybody else here. My only friend is one of the care keepers, Elmer Schneider, but… that's it.

I'm reading on my bed, when something catches my eye. The crank on the window was turned the other way, meaning it's open. I didn't even know it could do that. I brushed it off, figuring that Mrs. Mace had been outside and forgot to close it.

Wait.

The window was open.

_THE WINDOW WAS OPEN! _

I jump up from my bed, throwing my book to the floor. "It has to open… please open…" I said to myself. It pushed open as I put pressure on the glass. My heart jumped into my throat.

Right there, I had the chance to leave this prison. To be myself and discover the city, for just an hour. It was getting dark out, and we all knew the feared street gang, The Purple Dragons, lurked this part of Manhattan in New York's darkest hours.

I'd take my chances.

I cautiously stepped out the window and climbed down the fire escape. I stopped dead in my tracks as voices loomed in the alley behind me.

"Look at this boys, we got ourselves a runaway! Hey little princess, what are ya' doin' out so late?" A large shadow loomed behind me. I could fight, or I could run.

Let's run.

I took off and ran across the street that was in front of St. Mary's orphanage, into another alley. I figured that I could turn and lose them there. BUT OF COURSE I'M IN A DEAD END! LUCKY ME!

I desperately searched for somewhere to hide. A dumpster, door, bags or crates, anything!

And I found it. About ten feet in front of me was a manhole, obviously lose. I ran for it, lifted up the lid, and crawled inside just before the gang could get to me.

Musky scents filled my nostrils as I breathed heavily. I'm still not sorry that I left, ,though. That was actually kind of fun.

I could hear a rock or something move behind me. There, hiding behind a sewer wall, was the faintest color of bright green eyes. Something didn't seem right about him… alien, almost. "Who are you?" I called. He backed away. "Wait! I don't want to hurt you! You're safe with me."

He inched forward, stepping into the light. My eyes grew wide as I got a full view of him. Mildly dark green skin covered his body, along with a plastron and carapace. This kid had a shell. And, he had the brightest, most beautiful green eyes that I've ever seen. I stood up, getting off my knees. "Wow…" I said. "A-are you a turtle?"

He slowly noded yes. I took a step closer to him. "Cool!" I said, a smile on my face. "I'm Emiliah. Everybody- and by everybody I mean the two people who bother to talk to me- call me Emily. Do you have a name? Wait, can you even talk?"

"Yeah, I'm Raphael. But everybody- and by everybody I mean the four other people I know- call me Raph." I laughed. He reached out his hand for me to shake. My heart filled with warmth as he grew more comfortable around me, realizing that I was friend, not foe. I gleefully shook his hand, realizing that both his feet and hands only had three digits.

"Wanna meet my family?" He said.

"There's more of you? Cool! I'd love too!" I followed him through the sewers. We talked. "Are you like, an alien or something?" I asked at one point.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm a mutant. I- AH!" He jumped and latched onto me for protection. I noticed a cockroach scampering away from his foot. I froze, not knowing what to do. I… I can't remember the last time I was hugged. I cautiously laid my hand on his carapace. "Hey, you're okay." I cooed.

He looked up at me and pulled away. "Sorry…"  
"Don't worry," I said as we started to walk again. "I… actually can't remember the last time somebody hugged me, or anything like that. I didn't mind."

He looked down to the floor, his mouth pulled to the side. Next thing I know he had his arms wrapped around my shoulders. He was hugging me. I returned the favor.

We started to walk again. He grabbed my hand. I looked down, just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.

"Um…" he said, noticing my confusion. "Incase there are anymore… bugs."

I gave his hand a squeeze, telling him it was alright. We walked on.

About ten minutes had gone by, our hands still enlocked. He told me he was scouting the sewers and was separated from his family. I didn't bring up the whole orphan-and-no-parents thing, though.

A large human-rat hybrid turned the corner, three more turtles at his heels. "Raphael!" He said, happy to see his (what I'm guessing) son. Raph ran into the rat's arms.

And then I was just standing there, like a total dork. "Hi."

The brown colored hybrid looked down at me. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Emiliah. And you?"  
"I am Splinter. These are my sons; Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and I'm assuming that you've already met Raphael."

"Indeed I have," I said. "Hi." I waved at the other turtles. They all (including Raph) we're about four years old, like me. The one with light-green skin, baby blue eyes, and freckles walked towards me. "Hi! I'm Mikey!"

I giggled. "Well, nice to meet you, Mikey." I smiled. The other two came over.

"I'm Donnie." The olive-green one said. I gasped when he smiled. "Oh my gosh your gap is so cute!" I ushed. He laughed and his cheeks flushed a mild red color.

"And I'm guessing you're… Leonardo, was it?" I asked him. He was about a shade lighter than Raph, and had blue eyes like Mikey, but darker. He nodded, not looking at me. "Hey," I said. "You're safe with me."

He lifted up his head and smiled.

Splinter looked at me, a serious look gleaming in his eyes. "Emiliah, I am putting my faith in you to not tell _anybody _about us. This is a serious matter."

"Of course, your secret is safe with me." I pretended to zip my mouth shut and throw away the key.

"Daddy, can she play with us? Please please please please please?" Mikey pleaded.

Splinter chuckled. "If it's okay with her, then of course, I don't see why not." I nodded and followed him.

The lair was huge. It was an abandoned subway station, and the strange family had turned it into a home. Mikey grabbed me by the hand and dragged me off to his room. "Was Raph nice to you?" He asked me.

"Yeah, he was nice." I said. A look of shock came upon the small turtle's face. "No fair! He's always grumpy!" He pouted, crossing his arms.

"Hey!" Raph said, walking into the room.

"SEE! I TOLD YOU!" Mikey shouted, pointing at Raph as I started to laugh.

I was probably down there for at least two hours. We all talked, looked at comics, played with action figures.

It was the most fun I've ever had.

"My sons," Splinter said. "It is time to say goodbye to your friend and sleep."

"Aww!" They all whined. I smiled.

"Can she come back tomorrow? Please?" Donnie said. All the brothers nodded in agreement.

Splinter ruffled my wavy blonde hair. "If it's okay with her, it's okay with me."

"I'm available tomorrow. And the day after that. And basically any time after that." I said, counting my fingers. Splinter smiled. "Very well, we will see you tomorrow at the same time. Boy's, I am going to take Emiliah home, I expect you to be in bed when I get back." The turtles all ran to give me a hug and scurried off.

"Let's go." Splinter took my hand and headed off to the sewers. I didn't need someone to hold my hand, I liked the sewers. I didn't mind that small feeling of love, though.

"Now, Emiliah," Splinter said as we neared the manhole I directed him to, "What will your parents think after they find you?"

I stared at the floor. "I-I don't have any…" I mumbled.

Splinter stroked my hair. "My apologies, Emiliah, I really had no idea."

"Don't worry, Splinter. I-I've learned to face it. They're dead. Nothing I can do. Ah, here's the hole." Splinter lifted up the cover and gave me a boost. "Hey, Splinter?" I said after I was on flat ground. "Thank you for trusting me. I had a lot of fun. So, see ya' tomorrow." I gave him a two-finger salute and ran back to the building.

I got a lot more hugs after that day, by the way.


	7. Our Teeth

I looked over to see Leo snoring on the couch. We had watched the Space Heroes season finale special, which was awesome, by the way. When we couldn't get over over our own feels, so we just watched more cartoons. "I'm gonna have to carry you to your room, aren't I?" I said to him. I took his snores as a yes. "Ugh." I picked him up bridal style and carried him off to his room.

Leo's room was neat. There was some comic books on the floor, but besides that it was probably the second cleanest room in the house (next to Donnie's room).

I laid him down onto his Space Heroes pillow case and pulled the covers over him. I noticed a small, brown figure on the ground. "Wait, he still has this thing?" I said to myself as I picked up the patchwork teddy bear that I had given him when he was little. I set it next to him, and with a kiss on the head, I left the room and began to prepare myself for bed. I stopped into my room and threw on a t-shirt and pajama pants, and head headed off to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I halted when I saw a shadow looming out of the open bathroom door. With a quick peak inside, I saw Donnie, examining his gap. I smiled to myself and walked inside.

"Ah, Emily!" He gasped. "H-how long were you watching?!"

I quietly laughed. "Not too long. Is something stuck in your teeth?"

"Um...no." He said, a weary tone to his voice. I shrugged it off, tied my hair up, and started to brushing my teeth. He turned back to the mirror and resumed to examine his teeth.

He seriously did this the whole time I had the brush in my mouth. I rinsed off the bristles and wiped my mouth. "Donnie, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Huh? No, why?" He asked, oblivious to my point.

"You've never seemed to have a problem with your teeth. This is seriously the first time I've seen you look so self-concious about them."

He paused. "Emily… what do you think of my gap? Like, is it weird, or do you think I would look better if I fixed it?" He said, a red tint to his green cheeks.

I was surprised by his question. "Donnie, you're gap is fine! It makes you unique. Like Mikey's freckles, Raph's mangled bandana, Leo's leadership, and my scar."

He gave me a small smile. "H-has April said anything to you about it?"

I smirked, realizing where this was going. "Actually she's told me it's cute." I said. (She has! Don't give me that look!)

He smiled. "Oh my gosh, yay!" He smiled at himself in the mirror.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "If ya' can't beat 'em, join 'em," I said to no one in particular. I faced the mirror, observing my own teeth. My canines were another victim of my mutation, the top ones each about half an inch long. My bottom ones were left alone, though. I have drawn blood more than once from biting down on my lip to hard, to be honest.

So there we were, looking at our teeth like total geeks. "Your teeth are really cool, too, ya' know," Donnie said. "Like, it looks like you're Dracula's descendant or something."

"I feel like you're the only person I know who would say that." I laughed. "Hey, Donnie, smile for me."

He laughed and smiled his big gap-toothed grin that I just adore. "Now you smile for me." He said.

I smiled big, making sure to show my monstrous fang-like canines. We both laughed. Donnie bent down and kissed my forehead. "I feel like you're the only person I know who would ask that."


	8. Stuck in a Never Ending Dream Pt1

"Man, he must've been tired," Raph commented as Mikey drew on Leo's face with a black marker. My eldest brother had injured his leg during sparring and had come inside to rest.

"He looks good though," Said Mikey, stepping away to examine his artwork. "Handsome."

"Nice work," Raph said. "Ya' know, I'm pretty tired myself,"

"Ugh, same." I stretched my arms above my head and yawned.

"A little shut-eye wouldn't hurt anything, right?" Raph laid back into an ancient armchair and closed his eyes.

Mikey yawned. "Me too," I stifled back laughter as Mikey neared Raph's face with the open marker. "_Don't _even think about it." Raph said, without opening his heavy eyelids. Mikey slowly backed away from the chair.

"Naps are nature's… hugs," Mikey huddled into the other chair.

I scoped the room, looking for somewhere to sleep. "You guys are gonna bite me in the butt for this later," I said to myself as I laid down into a tight corner of the room. Casey's gonna say I sleep like a dog, I just know it.

"What the…" there I stood, overlooking Manhattan. It was night, which confused me because it was only about 2:00p.m. five minutes ago. "Where am I?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" A deep, gruff voice bellowed behind me. I quickly spun around and drew my axe. "Who's there?!"

"Everything you've ever feared." A powerful blow from behind sent me flying. I crashed into a wall, but quickly bounced to my feet, drawing my axe in front of me. I could make out a huge, furry creature in front of me. It's long, yellowed buck teeth stuck out of his mouth, probably sharp enough to pierce bone. Its fur was black as night, despite a white skull design in the middle of it's belly. It's eyes glowed red. "The name's Letum Beaver. And I'm here to show ya' what _real _fear feels like."

Letum means "death" in Latin, by the way… oh boy.

The scene switched. It was a rather large room, crowded with bees, wasps, and hornets. You know how Raph is around roaches?

That's how I am with bees. I screamed, almost immediately at the sound of buzzing wings and the sight of stingers. Luckily, I was only in there for about a minute. Soon enough, I was back in Manhattan, but this time I was at my old orphanage; St. Mary's.

Demon children. Of all things, it's demon children. All of their faces were dark and disfigured with hollow, yellow eyes. There had to be at least a hundred. I did the first thing my mind told me to do; run. I sprinted, kicking and hitting them out of my way.

I turned into the same alley that I had the night were I was dodging Purple Dragons and met the turtles.

_Met the turtles! _I had climbed through a loose manhole. Sure enough, the same manhole was loose. I quickly climbed through, just barely dodging the demented children. At that moment I realized how hard I had been breathing. "_Haf haf haf…" _

I backed into something… furry. "_No no no no no no no no no…"_ I thought to myself. The beaver let out a loud roar, enough for me to hear a continuous ringing. I yelled and bolted away, the beaver at my heels.

That's when everything started to spin. I could barely keep my balance as I ran across the rotating tunnel. And then I fell into a hole…

"We're out takin' care of business, and what're they doin'?" Casey complained. "Squat!"  
"Uh, Donnie must be on lookout!" April pointed out. They both headed upstairs to the room that Mikey, Donnie, and Emily shared. Donnie was asleep on his bed, a pair of underwear sat on his face. No doubt Mikey put it there to wake him up. "...Or not." April sounded disappointed.

Casey laughed. "Those weird teeth of his make 'im whistle!" Casey was right, with every snore Donnie took a whistle came through the gap in his teeth.

"Wait," April said, concerned. "Something's not right." She began to shake the large turtle. "Donnie? Donnie!?" The purple-clad ninja remained asleep. Little did she know, Donnie was enduring unimaginable terrors.

Casey dragged Donnie out to the den. "Come on dude, wake up already!" He protested, kicking Donnie's leg.

"That's not gonna work!" April shouted.

"Hehe, it was worth a try," Casey said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Plus I've always kinda wanted to do that.

"I-I don't understand it, they won't wake up!" April said, touching Raph's cheek. "I-It's like they're… trapped. Trapped in their dreams."

Casey started to laugh. "Look at Em! She sleeps like a dog!" Casey pointed to Emily, who was sleeping in a corner with her arms tucked under her chin and her legs bent.

"Casey, that's not the point!" April snarled. They observed each sibling.

"Mikey actually looks okay," Casey said as he saw the youngest of the five smile in his sleep.

"Yeah, but his pulse is getting weaker. They all are!" April directed to the other four.

"So… they're sick?" Casey asked.

"None of them have a fever, but I-I feel something… _strange. _Like something is draining the life out of them!"

"Can you get through to them somehow?"

"I can try." April said, but she didn't sound hopeful.

"Wait…" Casey stroked his chin. "That Bernie guy asked us if we were feeling tired!"  
"And that book he had!" April hugged Donnie's head to his chest. "Somniorum, i-it's Latin for… dreams, or, _of _the dreams, I think."

Casey swung his baseball bat over his shoulder. "I'll go see what's in that book, you see what you can do here."

Again, I was in a different place. I was kneeling down in the middle of Roosevelt High School, a yearbook in my hands. April's picture caught my eye. It was _moving. _"You have to wake up!" It shouted. "WAKE UP!"

I lifted up my head. "T-this is… this is a _dream._"

"I was really wondering when you would figure it out," Letum beaver said, hovering above me. "My job is to take that _away._" He brought down a heavy fist, with me just barely missing it. I ran around the school, doing my best to avoid him. This went on for the next five minutes, with me slashing my axe and dodging behind doors. One door dropped me into an abyss, and I was falling… falling… falling.

"Oof!" I landed on the cement road. I was relieved to finally see my brothers again.

"Woah… what's goin' on!" Leo said. I noticed that Donnie had a small puddle of tears in his eyes. I crawled over next to him and grabbed his hand. "I'm having the _weirdest _dream," he said.

"You can't be dreaming, I'm here!" Leo protested.

"'Cuz I'm dreaming you!" Donnie yelled.

"Maybe I'm dreaming you, but you're _not _dreaming me!"

I rolled my eyes. "Even in dreamland you guys fight over the stupidest things," I said, still panting.

Leo's eyes grew wide. "Emily, you look like a ghost!"

"I-I know that, Leo." I said, trying not to be rude.

"Aw! Where'd all the candy go!" Mikey whined. I tried to brush it off, thinking it was normal.

"Hang on…" Raph said. "Guys, I think that we're all in the same dream!"

"What?" Leo questioned. "That's impossible!"  
"Nothing's impossible," Bellowed a voice, "for the DREAM BEAVERS!" I held back a yelp. A dark red beaver crawled down the side of the building in a spider-like motion. Donnie felt me tense up and gave my hand a squeeze.

"Hehe," Donnie said. "Did you just say… _Dream Beavers?_"

"Olly olly oxen free!" The beaver yelled out. The ground started to shake, and we could all hear maniacal laughter echoing from… somewhere. Four more beavers burst through walls, manholes, streets, you name it. There was a pinkish one, and orange-brown one, a blue one (It's eyes were normal, not red), and then the black one that I had been paired with. They bared their claws and teeth and continued their maniacal laughter, leaving us there to stare with wide eyes.

"You _think _you are alone in your dreams," said the pink one. "But no! For years, we have lurked in this dream dimension, stealing the life force of humans! Draining them dry, and-"

"But dudes!" Mikey cried out. "We're not even human!"

The orange-brown beaver slid in front of him. "That is precisely what makes your life force so… _delicious." _

"Seriously," The red one continued, "Human life force _every meal _for thousands of years! Than one day, turtles!"  
"WE'RE NOT ALL TURTLES!" I yelled. The black one came down to me, making me cringe. "But you're still not human, are you?" Raph pulled me away and chalantly draped his arms over my shoulders, as if saying, "Back off," to the beaver.

"I like chocolate chip cookies," said the blue one as he twiddled his claws.

'SHUT UP DAVE!" The rest of them yelled.

"WE'RE GONNA DRAIN YOU DRY, AND SPIT OUT YOUR SHELLS!" The pink one howled as he threw us up into the air.

The next thing I knew, we were all in a comic book.

Literally.

We could see our own speech bubbles and the edges of the boxes. "What?" Raph said, poking the side of the paper. "Where are we?"

"Whew! Back in the real world!" Mikey sighed.

"This looks real to you?" Donnie asked.

"More or less," Mikey shrugged. "Except for those guys…" I followed Mikey's gaze. The five beavers sat on top of the buildings above us.

"Oh come on…" I breathed. Mikey grabbed my hand and gave me an assuring look.

"I spy with my little eye…" Dave said, "Something green!"

"SHUT UP DAVE!" They all yelled again. The pink one pounced on top of us, ripping through the paper.

We landed on metal poles. I looked around, realizing we were upside down. Good thing Leo got over his fear of heights.

Letum Beaver landed in front of me, his teeth bared and a bloodthirsty look in his red eyes. "Time to say goodbye."

"Not today." I lunged at him, sending him flying from the powerful strike of my axe handle. He flew, but got back on his feet and charged at me. He managed to throw me a few feet, and I cried out in pain as my back hit a metal pole and my sharp canines dug into my lip.

I couldn't see him. A heavy force struck my head and brought me to my knees. "Ah, hello princess." He growled.

"Why does everyone call me that?" I said to myself. I scooted back, not being able to find the strength to stand up.

Splinter had always told us to never use one specific move on one another. But this wasn't one of my brothers now, was it? I put all my strength into my right leg and gave him a powerful, harsh kick in between the legs. He toppled over in pain and I quickly stood up. "That's _queen _to you, sir." I said, wiping my bloodied lip.

The sound of roaring water filled my ears. I tried to run for my brothers but my jacket was stuck on a rusty pole.

"EMILY!" Leo cried out, right before he was carried out with the water. I was lost in the dark, and I don't know when I'm getting out.

"So… now we are all… _alone._" Letum smiled, clicking his claws. I was breathing heavily and my eyes were probably the size of tennis balls. I carefully reached for my axe and prepared for the fight to come.

"You said that wouldn't work!" Casey protested as he saw April slapping Donnie.

"I don't know what else to do!" April yelled, sounding near tears. "I can barely find their pulses anymore! If we can't wake them up, they'll die!"

Casey pulled Bernie through the doorway. The old man gasped, "Oh my gosh! Is that T.V. set an Astroview?"

"Really?" April asked, surprised. "Not 'oh my gosh, giant turtles?'"

"Wait," Bernie said to Casey. "You see them to?"

Casey looked enraged. He vigorously grabbed Bernie by the collar of his shirt. "Bernie, the Dream Beavers are sucking out their lives! How do we wake 'em up?!"

"Ya' cant!" Bernie protested. "The obteracculum keeps the beavers trapped in the dream realm! And as long as they're there their dream powers are unbeatable. THAT'S WHY I DON'T SLEEP! Got any coffee by the way?"

"He's not breathing…" April said, holding Donnie's face in her hands. "DONNIE'S NOT BREATHING!"

Casey harshly pushed Bernie away. "So this is what keeps 'em in the dream realm?!" Casey asked, picking up the book that was actually a plug.

"Yeah!" Bernie said. "Wait, what're you- NO!"  
Casey threw the plug to the ground and smashed it to pieces with his bat. Gold colored metal flew everywhere.

I looked around in confusion as blue sparks flared above me and the beaver. "HA!" The Letum Beaver yelled. "I'M FREE! FREE AT LAST!"

The lightning-like flashes went on for awhile, but nothing happened.

"What?!" The beaver said, an infuriated tone in his voice. "NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

'What's happening!?" I yelled.

"We're stuck here!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "There's no way out!"

There's no way out…

"You're okay!" April cheered as Donnie jolted awake. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek, making him blush and laugh.

"The obteracculum is broken!" Bernie said, clutching his hands to his head. "The beavers are free! Free to destroy our world! ALL IS LOST! ALL IS LOST!"

Purple bolts of electricity erupted from the plug in a tornado-like manner. You could hear laughter coming from it. There sat four, mangy, multi-colored beavers. That's really all they were.

"Hi, Dave." Mikey waved his three-fingered hand.

"Hi Mikey!" Dave said in a bubbly manner. "SHUT UP DAVE!" The other three yelled.

"This is it?! This is what I've been protecting the earth from for FORTY YEARS?!" Bernie yelled. "PLUSH TOYS?!"

Casey looked down at the small mammals. "If I were you guys, I'd be…"

"Leaving," The pink one finished. "My thoughts exactly. Come, beavers! Let us leave this world for one that is-" Casey poked him with the baseball bat. "Alright, we're going! Big bully…" The four beavers disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"April, Casey, giant talking turtles," Bernie said. "I've been awake for forty years for … no good reason. So… if you'll excuse me…" He collapsed on the floor and fell asleep. Casey and Donnie picked him up and carried him out to the car.

"Okay," said Leo, "I know that was terrifying and we nearly bought it and everything… but my leg feels a lot better!"

"Hey, guys?" Mikey said. "How many beavers were in the dream.

"Huh? Five." Said Raph.

"And… how many showed up after the portal was destroyed?"

Leo thought for a moment. "Fo- oh no."

Emily never woke up.


	9. Stuck in a Never Ending Dream Pt2

**WARNING: Raph, Donnie, and Casey fangirls may have feels attacks. Read at your own risk. **

Emily never woke up.

"GUYS! GUYS, WAIT!" Mikey yelled outside the house. "WAKE THE GUY UP AND GET IN HERE!"

"What? Mikey, what's going on?!" Donnie asked. The two vigilantes spun around and ran back to the house.

"It's Emmy…" Mikey said, sounding on the brink of tears. "S-She never w-woke up!"

Casey and Donnie stood there, opened mouthed. They ran in the house to see Emily's head in Raph's lap and April trying to find her pulse.

"Guys… her pulse is just barely there." April said.

Casey threw Bernie on to the couch and slapped him across the face. "WHY ISN'T SHE AWAKE?!" He yelled when the old man snapped awake.

"What?!" Bernie yelled in surprise. His eyes grew wide when he saw the still-sleeping kunoichi. He ran over to feel her pulse, just like April had been. Raph moved, giving him room. "No…" Bernie said. "I-It's not real! It… it can't be!"

"WHAT?!" Casey yelled, in fear for his best friend. (He qualified both Raph and Emily as best friends.)

"There was said to be a fifth Dream Beaver… Letum Beaver… it was scientifically proved that it's virtually _impossible _for that creature to leave the dream world."

"Well he was there all right! We saw him!" Leo shouted, pointing at Emily.

"Wait… 'Letum' means '_death_' in Latin." Donnie said, turning pale.

"C-can we get her out?" Mikey said, pools of tears forming in his eyes.

"I-I…" Bernie stammered. "I don't think so…"

Raphael broke down. Tears poured from his eyes, and he covered his mouth with his knuckles, keeping himself from sobbing and his lip from quivering. Leo, Donnie, and April began to cry, also.

April laid her hand on Emily's chest, but quickly jumped back with a scream. She buried herself into Donnie's chest. "S-She's not breathing…"

"WE'RE STUCK HERE!" Letum Beaver yelled at the top of his lungs. "THERE'S NO WAY OUT!"

That recided in my head over and over again. I swear to god, my brain is 75% song lyrics, because when he charged at me, with his teeth bared, the first thing I thought of was this;

"_With our backs to the wall, the darkness will fall,_

_We never quite thought we could lose it all,_

_Ready, aim, fire, ready, aim, fire!_

_An empire's fall in just one day!_

_You close your eyes and the glory fades!_

_Ready, aim, fire, ready, aim, fire away!_

_Ready, aim, fire, ready, aim, fire away!"_

__ Reasons why I relate to this right now;

I'm the empire, and I could easily fall right at this moment.

My back is to a wall.

If I close my eyes, I'm gonna lose my life.

Reasons why I don't;

I'm the empire. But I _won't _fall.

I drew my axe, and charged as well. My blade struck his teeth, the force from the hit making us both bounce back. "YOU WANNA GO DOWN LIKE THIS?!" I yelled. "THEN LET IT BE!" I let out a battle cry, loud and deep from my chest. A hard kick to his face sent him flying, but his quick reflexes sent him to his feet within seconds and he popped his jaw back into place with grotesque"_CRUNCH!"_ . I put in my all, and I started to see red. I could feel myself getting weaker.

I was slowly losing the battle.

The thought of seeing my brothers and friends again was the only thing that could keep my going at this point. Honestly, the thought of leaving without saying goodbye to them… absolutely terrified me.

But I still have a chance, and I'm putting in all it takes.

Bernie had fallen asleep again. Casey looked over at the obteracculum, it's pieces still scattered around from when he had shattered it just moments ago. He did the first thing that came to his head; he shattered it a little more. Casey raised the wooden bat above his head and furiously slammed it into the metal plug. He did it over, and over, and over again. With every strike, tears clouded his vision, until he fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands as he sobbed. Raph laid a comforting hand on the teenager's shoulder.

I was sweating and bleeding, heavy breaths coming in from my clenched jaws. My axe slung over my shoulder. I charged, one last time, my own fury keeping me on my feet. I could close my eyes and lie down and be done with everything, just like that. But no, that's not how I was raised. If I'm going down, there's no way in heck I'm not going down without a fight.

One… last… step…

The axe head cut through his stomach, splitting him straight in half. I was knocked to my feet and blinded by a bright light. I think I blacked out for a moment…

I jumped up, stuffing myself as far into a corner as I could. I was totally unaware of my surroundings. My breaths were loud and shaky, my eyes wide, and I was shivering like mad, but I wasn't cold.  
"Emily…" It was April's voice. I suddenly recognized my surroundings. I was in the den in April's old family home. I was surrounded by my family.

My shocked appearance turned into a relieved smile. April helped me to my feet, and she quickly grabbed under my arm when my legs almost gave way.

"EMILY!" Casey latched onto me and pulled me into a tight embrace, his sobs loud and heartbreaking. I was slightly thrown aback by his sudden act of affection, but quickly got over it.

"Shh… it's okay Casey, I'm right here, everythings okay…" I rubbed soft circles into his back.

He pressed his forehead on to mine. "I'm sorry… I-I just… oh my God *sob*" Tears pricked my own eyes as I wiped away his. He gave me one last hug and a soft kiss on the forehead, and pulled away. Not even a second went by when Raph latched onto me and buried his face into my shoulder, his violent sobs muffled by my jacket.

"Aw, Raph…" I quietly said as I ran my fingers through his rugged mask tails. "Shh…" His breaths were really shaky and his tear flow was heavy. Luckily I remember a trick from when we were younger.

"_If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,_

_I'll sail the world to find you._

_If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,_

_I'll be the light to guide you._

_Find out what we're made of,_

_When we are called to help our friends in need._

_You can count on me like 1, 2, 3_

_I'll be there._

_And I know when I need it_

_I can count on you like 4, 3, 2_

_You'll be there,_

_'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah._

_Ooooooh, oooohhh_."

I sang softly to him. Even when we were little kids, singing had some kind of effect on Raph. He shed less tears, and his violent sobs eased.

"I don't wanna let go yet," he said into my t-shirt. "Please, don't make me let go."

"Don't worry, Raph, I won't." I said as he nuzzled his nose under my chin. I gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I won't…"

I had volunteered to cook dinner that night. I chopped up green onions and tossed them into the stew pot. I could hear the kitchen door opened and I turned around to see who it was. "Hey Casey." He had just gotten back from returning Bernie to his home.

"Hey, Em, need any help?" He said as he walked over to stand next to me.

"Um… actually, could you take the meat off the pan and cut it up for me?" I asked, pointing to the pan on the stove. He reached for the cutting board and did as I asked.

We stood there in silence, until he said, "Um… Emily?"

I looked up at him. "What's up?"

"H-how did you get out of the nightmare?" His cheeks flushed a pink color.

I paused, staring down at my knife. "Casey… I killed it. I killed the beaver. But I did what I had to do."

He rested a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You are one cool chick." I smiled. "How did you know that singing would stop Raph's crying? Well, not _stop _it, he was still crying, but you know what I mean."

I shrugged. "My voice has always had some kind of calming effect on him. Even when we were really little."

"That's really cool. That was my dad and my little sis. She'd be upset, he would sing, and bam, she'd be fine."

We did that for the next 10 minutes. We just… talked.

"Hey, Em?" Raph asked. I was about to head off to bed when Raph came downstairs. He was looking down on at the floor and rocking on his heels, like he does when he's embarrassed or nervous. "C-can I sleep with you tonight? On the couch?"

I smiled at him. "Of course."

He rested his head on my chest and nuzzled his head under my chin. We each fell asleep…

I woke up to crying. It wasn't me or Raph, so I peeked my head up from the couch. Donnie has his shell pressed up against the wall and his head in his hands. I slid up more, easing myself out of Raph's grip so that I wouldn't wake him. "Donnie? 'You alright?"

He jumped at the sound of my voice. "Emily…" His voice broke. I hopped up from the couch and ran to his side. Tears cascading down his cheeks. "Emily I-I can't sleep. I… they're still there-"

"Shh, calm down. Here." I gripped his hand and brought him outside. "Now, what's up?"

He broke down. He sobbed into my shoulder and told me everything. About the chase through New York, about the beaver saying he wanted to eat him, everything. "I was so scared, I-I thought I wouldn't wake up… I'm afraid he'll come back…"

"Shh… Donnie, everything's fine. The beavers are gone, every last one, they can't hurt anybody anymore. There's nothing to worry about. Shh… let's go inside, you can sleep with me and Raph."

Back inside, Raph was sitting up on the couch, his eyes wide and filling to the brim with tears. He had had a nightmare.

"Raph!" Donnie and I quickly ran to his side to comfort him. "Shh…" I rubbed circles into his shell and wiped away his tears.  
"I-I dreamt that I was alone. I didn't know where anybody was…"

"Aw, honey. We're right here beside you. We're all ok." I kissed him on the cheek.

Donnie laid his head on Raph's shoulder, he laid his head on mine, and we all finally had a safe, beaverless slumber.


	10. The Truth

I had known the turtles for about a month, and we were closer than ever. Raph and I each had a controller in our hands. We were playing Mario Kart, he was in 3rd place and I was 10th. Stupid blue shells.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon…" He said to himself as he neared the finish line. "YES!" He passed the 2nd place player and crossed the finish line. He dropped the controller and raised his arms up in victory.

"Meh," I grumbled as I crossed the line in my looser position. "I really hate Bowser right now."

Mikey started to laugh. "He sucks."

"I wonder if Mario and Luigi have parents," Leo randomly blurted. "Like, they're never showed in the games. I wonder what they look like, or what their names are."

I thought for a moment. "That's… actually a good question, Leo."

"What if they both had mustaches," Mikey said. We all bursted into laughter. After about a minute I was on my back with my hand clutched over my stomach.

"Speaking of parents," Mikey continued. "Emmy, what are yours like? You never talk about 'em."

I paused, not knowing what to say. "Um… well… they're in the sky-"

"YOUR PARENTS ARE BIRDS?!" Mikey exclaimed. Even though this was actually a really tragic topic, I couldn't help but laugh at Mikey's childishness.

"No, Mikey, they're not birds. They… they live in heaven."

"Is that in New York?" Leo asked. Everybody, except for Donnie, looked confused.

"Um…" I stammered.

"How about we ask Splinter?" Donnie suggested. They all got up and ran to the dojo. At the last moment, Donnie turned around and ran back to where I was. "Both of them?" He asked, a saddened look on his face. I slowly nodded yes. He pulled me into a hug and let me lay my head on his shoulder as he rubbed slow circles into my back. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. I just… needed this.

"Sensei?" Raph called out.

Splinter walked out of his room and smiled at the sight of his children. "What is it, my sons?"

"What's heaven?" Leo asked.

The large rat hybrid bent down to be eye level with his sons. "Heaven is... a beautiful place where people go once their time on the earth is done. It's a home for the people in the afterlife."

All of the turtle's eyes grew wide. "Like when you're… dead?" Raph asked.

Splinter laid a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, my son."

Raphael gasped and bolted out of the dojo. Splinter looked shocked. "Sons, why do you ask? What's going on?"

"Um…" Mikey looked at the floor. "Emmy said that's where her parents are."

Splinter jumped up and headed for the door, his sons at his heels. The sight that met him broke his heart.

Emily was in the middle of Donnie and Raph, her head resting on Donnie's shoulder, and Raph was leaned up against the young girl. They both now understood what was going on. Mikey and Leo rushed down to Emily to comfort her. Of course, Splinter already knew about Emiliah's loss, but there was a pang in his heart whenever thought of it. It was his job to be as much of a father figure as he could to the small girl. He had already lost his own child, Miwa, and he was not to make the same mistake with Emiliah.

Leo rested his head on Emily's thigh and Mikey sat in between her legs, his head resting on her chest. She smiled and stroked the light-green turtle's head. Splinter walked over and kneeled down in front of the pile of children. "You will always have us… my child."

Emily looked up at the rat, her bright blue eyes shining with a natural sparkle. "I know… thank you."


	11. Painting

It was late at night when Casey texted me. Around 11:30 p.m.

**Can you come over? I'm on top of the hockey arena. **

I reached for my T-phone when I heard it go off. "_This can't be good._" I thought to myself.

**I'll be there in five. What's up? **

**Rather not say over txt. Just get here. **

I told Master Splinter that Casey needed me and that it sounded like an emergency. He told me I could go.

They hockey rink wasn't all that far from the lair. Worst part about it was that I had to go across St. Mary's.

The ice arena was a tall, cylinder shaped building with two large cooling vents on opposite sides of the roof. Casey's hunched figure sat on the opposite side of the roof, his knees slightly pulled in. I skipped over and sat myself next to him. "Hey, Em," He said, without looking at me. I turned to look at him.

I gasped at what I saw. His face was black, bruised, and bleeding. His eyes were also red, showing that he had been crying. "Casey! W-What happened?"

"Um… I-I ran into Tigerclaw. He didn't throw me off a roof again, though." He said. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"We have to fix you up," I breathed. "I'm guessing you don't wanna go to the lair, is anybody home at your place?"

He paused. "No, my dad and sister went out. They won't be home until later… w-we can go there." We both got up, my arm still wrapped around him. I could feel him lean into me. I was happy that I was giving him comfort in a moment where it appeared that he needed it most.

His apartment wasn't big, but it wasn't small, either. Two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a kitchen, a dining table, and a little sitting area with a television and a small computer sat on a small table. Casey propped his equipment up on a wall, and I did the same. "What do I need?" He asked.

I studied the injuries on his face. "A wet cloth… bandages, an ice pack, and… a paper towel." I followed him into the kitchen while he grabbed the supplies. Once his hands were full, we sat face to face on the couch. I dabbed the blood from his face, bandaged the cuts, and placed the ice pack on the large bruise above his eyebrow. I flinched when he winced in pain. "Sorry! I didn't mean to."

"It's… it's okay. I know." He said, in a quiet voice. I noticed tears in his eyes.

_**Casey's POV**_

"Casey," She said, noticing the wetness of my eyes. "What did he do to you?"

"I-It's not that I'm hurt…" I said, my voice cracking.

She put her hand under my chin, bringing my eyes to meet hers. "Then what is it? You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

I turned away, but I nodded. "It's… it's that…" I stammered, not knowing how to put my thoughts into words. "I text you at almost midnight, saying you that I need help. I don't even tell you _why _I need help, but you say yes and come without question. When you actually see what happens, instead of saying something like, 'you shouldn't be out this late', or 'it's your own fault that you went after him', but you offer to take your own time to h-help me." Small trails of tears were running down my cheeks. I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat, my face hot with embarrassment. "I just… don't know anybody else like that."

I looked up when she wiped my eye with her thumb. "You'll always have me to call on. No matter what." She lightly kissed my hairline and pressed the ice pack back onto my bruise.

I hated crying around people, because a lot of the time, I choked when I cried. Honestly, I have no Idea why, but I always have, even when I was a little kid.

I did it.

My coughing was heavy and throaty. Emily tapped my back, her touch was warmer than usual. I remember Raph telling me that she did this when she was freaked out. "Breathe," she said, repeating it a few times. After my coughing fit died down, she buried her head in my shoulder. "Just breathe."

I rested my hand on her back. "No worries, Em, I'm breathin'…"

"Then don't stop."

I smiled and hugged her. "Wanna vandalise some shiz?"

She laughed. "Sure, Casey. And I know just the place."

I grabbed a few cans of paint from the stash I hid in my room and I followed her out the window. I jumped the rooftops next to her. "Skunk! Where are we goin'?"

Em took one last jump, and landed on a rooftop. "We're here." I almost lost her when she took off down the fire escape.

There was a huge, brick wall. Nothing on it. It was kinda sad. "Paint something happy. Like, flowers or a rainbow or somethin'." She said. "Don't ask why."

So we did. It was a big painting of a colorful tree. Some of it's leaves were a lot bigger than than the others. Those leaves had words in them, like _happiness, faith, hope, _etc. Than at the bottom, we wrote "_All these words mean something different to different people. In the end, they're all the same thing." _

Last, our signatures. I sprayed "_The Masked Player" _and she wrote "_Queen of Flames". _I liked her signature, it made her sound powerful.

"That… is awesome." She breathed, her hands on her hips. "Now, one more thing." She grabbed me by the sleeve and dragged me to the side of the building. There was another blank wall. "Draw something. Anything."

"Emily, what is this place?" I asked.

"St. Mary's Home for Children." She didn't even look at me. Her eyes were fixed on what she was doing. I thought as I drew.

I remembered Raph telling me they had adopted Emily. I'm guessing this was where she grew up.

I ended up drawing six kids. They were all different shapes, sizes, and genders. All of them were in black paint, except for the one on the end. That one was orange. She was a bit farther away from the rest of the kids.

That was Emily.

I heard Emily sigh in satisfaction. I looked over to see what she did. It wasn't a painting, but writing.

_No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens_

_Don't let them see what goes down in the kitchen._

_Places, places, get in your places_

_Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces._

_Everyone thinks that we're perfect_

_Please don't let them look through the curtains._

_Picture, picture, smile for the picture_

_Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?_

_Everyone thinks that we're perfect_

_Please don't let them look through the curtains._

_D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E_

_I see things that nobody else sees._

She started to sing what she wrote. It was song lyrics. "It has a meaning. Well, to me it does. Growing up here sucked."

I noticed that the first two, the 5th, the 6th, and the last four lines were in bolder painting then the rest. Then, I got it.

_**Emily's POV **_

Last night was fun. I had waited all day for this. It was finally 1:00p.m. That was the time when all the kids in St. Marys' got to go outside. My brothers went to go see the mural.

All the kids were gathered around it, pointing and laughing and smiling.

"You did _that_ last night! Lucky!" Mikey exclaimed.

"But, I thought you hated that place," Donnie said. "Why did you do them a favor?"

"I hated it because it was miserable," I answered. "And I was trying to make it a little less miserable."

The boys moved away when some kids started to look. Then, it was just me. My hair flowed to the side, and I stood in a heroic kinda way, giving myself an enigmatic look. Kids were pointing at me. I noticed one of the care keepers, Elmer. He was looking up at me, covering his eyes from the sun. I gave everybody a two-fingered salute, and took off to catch up with my brothers.

_**Okay here's some Casey and Emily drabble. Personally, I believe that they would be really close in the 2k12 series.**_


	12. Just a Twisted Nightmare

Death. Everywhere. That was the last thing I saw.

I woke up, covered in my own sweat. It was just a nightmare. A messed up, horrifying nightmare.

I had to check on everybody. I know it was just a dream, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I was 100% sure everybody was safe from my own freaky wrath.

This is how our rooms are positioned: Mikey was to my left and Raph's room was to my right with me set in the middle, and then Donnie and Leo's rooms were set in front of ours. Donnie was on my left and Leo directly in front of me.

I checked every one of my brother's rooms, Donnie first. Once I was satisfied with each of my bros being safely asleep in their beds, I turned back to my room.

"Emily?" I nearly jumped five feet. I whipped around, only to see my eldest brother, Leo.

"Jesus Leo, you scared me." I breathed, clutching my chest. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, but don't worry." He smiled. "Emily, you look like a ghost!" That was our little joke. I was a pale kid, and I somehow got a little paler when I was instead of saying that I looked like a saw one, he says that I literally look like a ghost.

I rolled my eyes. "It was just a dream."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Nah, it's nothin'."

"Em, you look like you just witnessed a bloody manslaughter. What happened."

I pressed my back to the wall and slid down, landing with my knees to my chest. "I-I… I hurt you guys. I hurt you guys _really badly_." I said, staring at the floor. "The place was up in flames. Blood was everywhere. I-I don't know what I was doing. Leo… I'm going insane."

Leo sat down in front of my and laid his hand on my leg. I put my hand on top of his, like how a baby might do. His was so much bigger than mine. "Emily, it was only a dream, you're not going insane. Besides, we know how much you love us. You would never do something like that."

"But what if I do. What if I do, Leo."

"Then I won't let you." He said calmly. We both got to our feet, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "Thank you, Leo." He hugged me back.

When we pulled away, I gave him a serious look. "If I ever do go insane or something, do whatever's necessary to keep you guys safe. Even if it means taking my life."

His eyes widened. "Em, that's never gonna happen! You're not gonna go insane and hurt us-"

"Please, Leo, just promise me," I pleaded.

"I-I.. I promise…" He sounded near tears. It sounded like he didn't mean it, but I figured that was all I would get out of him. I gave him one last hug and whispered "Thank you."

"Em, you're scaring me." This time he did have tears in his eyes.

"Sorry," I stood up on my toes and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you."

"Love you to." He took my hand and slowly walked toward his room. I just went along with it and followed him.

_**Leo's POV**_

Emily was haunted with nightmares ever since she was a little kid. We all think it has something to do with the deformed mutagen she had been exposed to, but the weird thing was, she even had nightmares before that.

Emily was mildly abused as a kid. That's how the dreams started off. She'd come over with some bruises and bumps, but she was a rowdy kid. We thought nothing of it.

Then, one day she came to the lair (It was about two months after she had gotten the scar) with two huge bruises. One on the left side of her jaw and one above her left eye. Donnie took her to his lab to clean her up. She told him everything.

That was the first time I ever saw Emily cry.

And it scared me. It scared me to death.

I peeked in, and she was crying into Donnie's shoulder. Not sobbing, but crying. Donnie was crying, too. I remember rushing in to see what happend. She told me that kids hit her for being a freak. They hit her harder than before. She was lost. That made me realize that sometimes;

The people with the brightest smile are the saddest.

The bravest people are scared the most.

That some people have a dark background, yet, they shine like a star.

I held her. Me and Donnie held her while she cried, and we cried with her. I think Raph and Mikey came in a little later, but I'm not sure. Splinter did come in after a while, that I remember. The deep look of sympathy and shock in my fathers eyes is something I will never forget.

But there she lay, right next to me, stronger then ever. Just thinking of that day brought tears to my eyes. I nuzzled into her sleeping body and fell asleep with her.


	13. Ambushed

"Em, watch this!" Mikey called out. I watched him as him as he cartwheeled off of the roof, flung himself over, and landed onto the next rooftop.

"My turn!" I ran after him and did the same trick. I _would've _done it right, if he wouldn't have tripped me. "Hey! Not fair!" He just laughed. I hoisted myself off the ground and brushed off my pants.

We were out on patrol, and Mikey was my partner tonight. There seemed to be a lot of Foot activity, so we all split up to cover more ground. "Mikey!" I said in a loud whisper. "Look!"

Down below was the Purple Dragon trio, led by Fong, as usual.

"Can we go down there?" Mikey pleaded. I looked down, and then up at him, and nodded. He smiled as we jumped down the fire escape.

Fighting these guys was always amusing for me. The biggest one, the one that always had the purple headband around his forehead, was scared of me. I laughed when his eyes grew wide at the sight of me, and he took a few steps back. "Hello to you, to." I said with an evil smirk on my face, purposely showing my canines. He flinched when I cracked my knuckles. Half of the fun was messing with this guy.

"Get your head in the game, wimp!" Fong yelled at him. "It's only two of 'em!"

"We can still whip 'ya into next week!" Mikey yelled, spinning his nunchaku.

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Very well!" I scoffed. "Mikey, sick 'em!" I drew my axe and we both charged. Mike took the Emilyphobic one and I took Fong and the hairy one.

They were both down in a matter of minutes. "Hey Mikey, need any help?"

"Nah," He grunted. "I'm good. I'll let you know!"

"'Kay!" Something caught my eye.

There on the rooftop was none other than Karai, with about six or seven Foot soldiers at her heels. Mikey brought the Purple Dragon down and ran to join me. "Whad'ya see?"

Before I could say, "Get back," Karai already saw us and was directing her soldiers to us. "Get ready for a fight, Mikey." He grabbed my hand.

"Well, lookie here," Karai scoffed. "This should be easy."

"Don't jinx it." I twirled my axe around and bared my teeth. She charged at me, along with three of the Footbots. The other four went at Mikey.

Just everyday misfortune taking a turn for the worse. I struggled taking on this many ninjas, but I could manage. I busted two of their heads at the start, leaving me with Karai and one Foot soldier.

Karai was good, I won't lie.

But I can be better.

The trick is to not waste your time fighting her, but tricking her. I dodged her kicks and went one way when she thought I was going the other. She stumbled, and when her back was to me, I threw her to the ground. What I forgot was that there was another Foot soldier that I didn't take down.

It grabbed me from behind and dragged me a few feet back. "Dangit!" I hissed. I thrashed and released myself from its grasp. With a powerful kick and a jab to the stomach, it went down. When I turned back to Karai, she had her katana drawn to my chest. "Got'cha now."

"Oh really?" I threw a swift kick to her ankle and she dropped a little, giving me enough to force her to lower the sword. "Seriously, don't jinx it."

She was up quick, and she looked madder than ever. "Y'know," I said, "We're not all that different."

"How?" She hissed.

"We're both extremely good kunoichis-" I thrashed my axe out, but she dodged it and threw a punch. I caught her fist at the last second. "See?" I smirked. "We both lost a parent-"

"Huh?" Karai said, but not stopping the fight.

"I lost my parents, Karai. They're _dead_." I snarled. She looked surprised. I took the moment to roundhouse kick her in the stomach, sending her down and leaving her to gasp for breath.

"AHH!" The scream echoed through my head. I turned to see Mikey on the ground, clutching his head. The Purple Dragon he had fought was up, a pipe in his hand.

I started to see red.

I sauntered toward the large man, fury blaring in my eyes. I reached out my hand for the pipe. He slowly reached out, his hand shaking. I snatched it from his hand and rapped him over the shoulder. He cried out in pain and ran away, the other two following. I was breathing heavily through gritted teeth, my fangs bared. I mounted myself over my now unconscious brother.

My axe was clutched in my hands, and I was ready to do whatever it took to keep Michelangelo safe. Whatever. It. Takes.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

For them.  
Everybody charged at me, but I was ready. I threw my pipe, and it hit one soldier, making it drop like lead. Then it was just me an Karai. "You mine as well leave now," I said. "Because there's no way you're winning this fight."

She just smirked. "Don't jinx it." She threw her katana at my head, but I blocked it with the handle of my axe. While she struggled, I kicked her in the stomach and brought my axe to her throat. "Leave."

She scuffled to her feet and took off down the alley. After she left, I turned back to Mikey, who was now awake.

"You… are awesome." He uttered. I crouched down near him and laughed. "Are you okay?"

"My head kinda hurts. I think I can get up, though." I helped him to his feet. "Can we call the guys? I can walk… just not all the way home."

"Yeah, hold on." I took out my phone called the first person on my contacts list under "Bros".

Donnie answered. "Hey Em! Is everything alright?"

"We got ambushed. Mikey's hurt, but not badly. Can you guys get the Shellraiser? We're next to the pet store."

"Yeah! We'll be right there. Hang in there and stay where you are!"

"We will!" I hung up the phone and looked over at Mikey. "Let's go home."

We started toward the street to wait for the guys. Mikey looked up at me. "Can I hold your hand?"

I smiled. "Of course, Mikey." He squeezed my hand and continued to walk. "I feel bad for Karai."

"Why?" Mikey said, confused.

"Because she's the one that has to tell the Shredder that her team was defeated by just the two of us."

We both laughed.


	14. An Experience With Mistletoe

It was Christmas Eve, and we were all gonna hang out at the lair. It was my family, April and her dad, and then the turtles. (And Emily and Splinter, of course.)

My sister was practically bouncing off the walls as we neared the lair. "Calm down, honey. We're almost there," my dad said, stroking her hair. She just laughed.

The lair looked amazing. Red, green, gold, and white ribbons were hung everywhere. There were a few candles, and everybody had a Christmas hat on. Even Splinter!

"Ah, come in!" The old rat said with a warm smile. My phobia of rats still existed, but Splinter had become a second father figure for me. I've learned to like him over the years.

Emily walked into the living room through the dojo with a candle in her hand and a red santa hat on her head. The eighteen year old smiled at us, set down her candle and walked over to join us. "Hey guys!" My sister was the first to hug her. Emily laughed, "Hi, Trinity." She gave both me and my dad a hug, too. She was still as nice and peppy as she was when I first met her three years ago.

The boys came up to greet us, next. After that, April and her dad walked through the door. "Merry Christmas!" April exclaimed. She gave Donnie a kiss, making him blush. Even though they've been dating for a while, Donnie was still super quirky. Donnie kissed her back and she laughed.

I'll admit, I was a little upset when April started going out with Donnie. I did like her, but after a while I realized that she actually wasn't really my type. Yes, she was beautiful, smart, talented, but… that's not what I wanted. I wanted a girl who was rowdy, strong, funny, determined. The kind of girl who seems like the nicest person in the world, but can put somebody in the hospital if she wanted.

That girl was Emily. I like Emily. April was the friend who would calm me down when I was angry, but Em was the person who would run around with me with her axe raised while we yelled "LET'S GO KICK SOME BUTT!" Plus the April thing.

"We have Christmas Pizza!" Mikey exclaimed.

"And… other things." Emily glared at Mikey. The turtle smiled and giggled. Emily just smiled and rolled her eyes. "You guys want cocoa?"

"Yes!" Trinity yelled. Even though she's twelve, I swear to god that she has the soul of a five year old. We just all went along with her and Emily disappeared into the kitchen.

We all sat on the couch and floor and talked. Soon enough, the lair was filled with voices and laughter.

Emily walked out of the kitchen, a large tray holding ten mugs in her hands. She tripped, but quickly caught herself. She had that look on her face that said, "Oh my gosh that freakin scared me." Em just brushed it off with a laugh and continued toward us. She sat down next to me and we all drank our cocoa and continued to talk. At one point, she nudged my side.

In her palm, was a small mistletoe plant. "Watch this," She mouthed. Emily got up and slowly walked around to Donnie and April, and she raised the Mistletoe above their heads. Everybody burst into laughter while they just stood there, confused.

"Dudes!" Mikey yelled through his laughter. "Look up! Look up!"

So they did, and a dark red color crept across both their faces when they saw Emily. "EM!" Donnie exclaimed. She just shrugged and continued to hold it above their heads. April gave Donnie a big kiss, and the turtle mutant melted into it. Emily smiled and walked away. "I seriously have been waiting all week to do that." She laughed.

Leo turned on a Super Hero Mecha Force Five Christmas special, and we all turned to watch. After everybody had placed their empty mugs back on the tray, Emily took them back to the kitchen. My hands were sticky from the drink, so I followed her. Mikey shrieked when we got to the doorway. "You guys are under the mistletoe!"

We both looked up, and sure enough, the red and green plant was hung up right above us. I stood there, my cheeks flaring red. What do I do!? Should I kiss h-

Emily kissed me. It wasn't a long kiss, but it wasn't a peck kiss, either. After that, she just walked into the kitchen as if nothing happened. As for me… I just stood there. Frozen.

After a little bit, Raph got up and dragged me off to the dojo. "Case, do you like my sister?"

I just stood there, scared to answer. Was this a trick question?

"I don't care if you do, Case. Just yes or no." He noticed my unease.

I nodded my head. "Then get in there and kiss 'er back, 'cos she likes you as much as you like her." He poked my chest.

"S-Seriously?" I said, still a little shaken. He just nodded his head and pushed me out of the dojo. "Go." He shoved me toward the kitchen.

Em was washing out the mugs and humming. I swiftly went over next to her and started washing my hands. Her humming turned into quiet singing.

_I don't believe in fairy tales.._

_I don't believe in fairy tales.._

_I don't believe in fairy tales,_

_but I believe in you and me._

_Take me ta' wonderland._

_take me ta', take me ta',_

_take me ta' wonderland._

_take me ta', take me ta'_

_take me ta' wonderland._

_take me ta', take me ta'_

_take me ta' wonderland,_

_Wonderland, wonderland. _

"I've had that song stuck in my head all day. What confuses me is that it's not even a Christmas song!" She said, making me laugh.

I bit my lip, nervous for what I was about to try to do. "Hey, Em?" When she looked at me, I did it. I kissed her.

And she let me.

I could feel her smile into the kiss, making me smile, too. We've cried to each other, bled for each other, and now we've kissed each other.

I'm kissing Hamato Emiliah, and I love it.

"I like you, Em," I said after the kiss ended. "I like you a lot."

"I like you to, Casey." She kissed me again. _She kissed me again!_

We heard giggling at the door. I broke the kiss and looked over. Trinity had this huge smile on her face. And with that, she took off. I rolled my eyes. "Kids..." I said and kissed Emily again.

After a little bit, me and Emily finished with the mugs and went back out to watch the show. Raph went over and sat next to me. "Did 'ya do it?" He whispered.

I smiled. "Yeah, _three times!_" I whispered back.

Emily leaned over to look at me and Raph. She just laughed and rolled her eyes. "Boys…"

_I__SHIP IT! JOMELIAH!_


	15. Return of a Hero

The house was silent without Emily. Not totally silent, but just… not normal.

Three months, and no sign of her or Splinter. At least Leo had woken up just moments before. So, there was still hope. I spoon fed him some of the special mutagen-based medicine I had made for him. Leo gagged in disgust. "That tastes like it's supposed to come out of me, not… go into me!"

Raph flopped down next to Leo and said; "First thing tomorrow morning, we're gonna start training again- you and me! You'll be back on your feet in no time!"

"Hehe, thanks bro." Leo said smiling. "Hey, where's Emily?"

Everybody's faces fell. "What's… what's wrong?" Leo asked, confused.

"Leo…" I started. "the night the invasion started, we were attacked. Emily gave us a chance to get away. Kraang Prime attacked the van and she got out of the car and fought him off." Just talking about it made the horrifying memory flash into my mind.

_Out of nowhere, something hit the car and caused us all to be thrown forward._

"_IT'S KRAANG PRIME!" Mikey yelled. "Hurry! Drive!"  
_"_I can't!" Casey yelled back, "It's too heavy!"_

_The alien crawled to the side of the van, blocking the door._

"_Promise me to start driving after I do this?" Emily asked._

"_What do you me-"_

_Emily threw open the door and hit Kraang Prime. It tried to hit the car again, but Emily held the alien off._

"_Go! Hurry!" Emily yelled._

"_But Emily!"_

"_I'll be fine! Just go while you can! Please, GO!"_

_Raph closed the door and Casey hit the gas. Emily was still out there._

I swallowed the lump in my throat. April laid a comforting hand on my arm.

"Wait. S-so she's… she's…" Leo said, tears forming in his eyes.

"We don't know for sure." April assured, sitting down next to Leo and putting a hand on his shoulder. "We haven't heard from her since… 'that night', but she can still be out there."

"Plus," Casey added. "She's like, one of the best ninjas in her century. She can handle… almost anything."

"Yeah, dude! She'll be fine!" Mikey said. His eyes were still kind of bloodshot from crying when Leo woke up. Me and Raph cried, too. But Raph cried the hardest.

"What about Master Splinter?" Leo asked. When he noticed our solemn faces and heard our silence, he started to cry. Raph and April rested their heads on each of his shoulders. Casey, Mikey, and I sat down at his feet. I rested my hand on his kneecap and Mikey rested his head on Leo's lap.

"Sorry," Leo said, wiping his tears away. "Is he really dead?"

"Shredder threw him down a drain pipe," Raph said, biting his lip and squeezing Leo's hand.

"But he's a master ninja." Mikey added.

"Greatest in his century." Raph sniffed. Leo leaned in closer to the red clad turtle. Raph let out a deep sigh.

And we just sat there, for about an hour, letting Leo and Raph cry.

_**A few hours later**_

"_VROOOOM!" _We all jumped at the sound of an engine. "You guys go to the back of the house. I'll check this out." Casey grabbed one of his hockey sticks, and headed for the door.

I recognized the sound. It was the engine of a motor bike. But, who would come here on a motorcycle? Who would come here in general?

Suddenly, my heart leapt into my throat. I remembered why I recognized the noise so well.

Emily had a bike.

_**3rd Person POV**_

Casey opened the front door, his hockey stick in hand. "HEY!" He called out. There was somebody out there, but they had a biker helmet over their head, so Casey couldn't see them.

She took off her helmet. "Jeez, hello to you to." Black and white hair fell out of the helmet, and the deep brown eyes on a scarred face met mine.

Casey's jaw dropped. "E-Em…" He started to run towards her. "Em!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up and spun her around. They both laughed and shed tears of joy. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god… GUYS! GUYS!"

Mikey was first through the door. He gasped and his eyes grew wide. He practically flung himself into her arms, emitting loud sobs into her chest.

"Mikey…" Emily said with a happy smile on her face, tears forming in her eyes. She gave him a big kiss on the forehead and he let out a half laugh half sob.

Everybody came to the door, Donnie supporting Leo. Tears formed in Raph's eyes almost instantly. He slowly walked up to Emily, almost as if he was making sure that she was real. Emily pulled him into a tight hug.

Raph paused, but quickly melted into the hug. He nuzzled under her chin and was trying to hold back tears, but wasn't doing the best job. Mikey nuzzled back into the hug. "Ugh, you guys are making me cry," Emily laughed, wiping her eyes. "I missed you guys so much."

"We missed you, too." April hugged Emily once Raph and Mikey had pulled away. Donnie and Leo hugged her, too. Donnie did his best not to cry, but failed. He placed his chin on top of her head.

Because of the arrangement of heights, everybody hugged her in a different way. Mikey rests his head on her chest, Donnie, puts his head on top of hers, Leo nuzzles into her shoulder, and Raph nuzzles his nose under her chin.

They all headed back inside the house. Mikey latched onto her older sister's hand, like she would disappear again if he let go. Emily smiled and squeezed his hand. Raph took her other hand. "It feels good to be home."

"But we're not…" Raph said, looking at the floor.

Emily leaned down and kissed his cheek. "But I'm with you guys. That's close enough." She looked around. "This is a nice place."

"Where did they take you?" Casey asked.

"TCRI. They turned that place into, like, their main headquarters. I was… prisoner. It was me and one other kid. Daniel."

"Daniel?" Mikey asked.

_**Emily's POV **_

"Daniel was in the cell in front of mine. He's a nice kid." I told them everything about him.

_Three months ago_

"Argh!" Several Kraang 'bots pushed me into a cell, sending me crashing onto the hard ground. The cell resembled a prison cell; there was a cot hanging off the wall, a toilet, and a sink. That was basically it. One of the robots said something, but my brain was to fuzzed up to understand. Then, the door was slammed shut and they all walked away.

I pressed my back to the wall and sighed.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed a figure in the cell across from mine. I made a small flame in my hands, making just enough light to see what it was.

It was a boy. He was Latino. He had curly black hair. He was crying.

"Hey," I said, just loud enough for him to hear me. He looked up from his knees and met my eyes. "Hey," I said again. "I'm Emily. What's your name?"

"D-Daniel," He said. His eyes were red. I reached my hand through the bars and extended my hand. He looked uneasy. "Don't worry, I won't

bite," I said. A heartless smirk spread across his face and he reached out his arm. There was just enough room in between the cages for us to interlock fingers.

I asked him simple questions. Like, how old are you, who's in your family, stuff like that. He was fifteen, like me, and he had a mom, a dad, and two younger siblings. They were twin girls, Melanie and Sylvia. I told him that I was fifteen like him, and that I had four brothers and a dad, and that I was adopted. I kept talking to him, trying to keep the fact that he was being held prisoner at an alien base.

That's how I met Daniel.

_Present day_

It was about five a.m. Me and Daniel were both beaten, burnt, and scarred. Three months had gone by, and we were still here. Nothing had changed.

A Kraang droid walked by with two trays. He slipped the first one under mine, and the other into Daniel's. When the robot turned to Daniel, I noticed a thing on his waist. A key. That thing was a key.

I reached my hand up and snatched the key from his belt right before he turned around. He didn't even notice! "Hey, Daniel," I said. "You said something about your parents going out of the city?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember where it was?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
I unlocked the cell door. "Because I'm gonna need that info for when we get out." He looked up at me, and gasped when he saw me step out of the cell. I opened his next. He grabbed my hand and stood up. "Lets blow this joint."

We ran down the long hallways searching for an exit.

And there it was.

In front of us stood the main exit and entrance. The only problem… it was heavily guarded. I could feel Daniel slightly shaking. "Follow my lead." He squeezed my hand. I squeezed back.

We walked right into the mess. The Kraang seemed confused, almost. They didn't attack until my hand touched the door handle. I threw a roundhouse kick that knocked several of them down.

We bolted into an alley and into the sewers. Daniel didn't even ask why we were down there. Once we reached the lair, I grabbed an axe from the dojo and took Daniel to the garage, where my bike was. "Hop on." I handed him a helmet, and we were off.

_Present day, later time_

"Daniel! Daniel!" Who I'm assuming was Daniel's mom rushed out of the old country home, tears running down her and Daniel's face. I smiled to myself when they hugged. It was about three p.m. when we arrived at the house. "And who might you be?" The woman asked me.

"Mom, this is Emily. She's… the only reason I'm here right now." Daniel said. His mom hugged me.

"Thank you so much for helping my son. Is there anything I can do to thank you?" She asked me.

"Actually… do you have any gasoline? I still have to get back to my family, and they're a ways away." I said.

"Oh, absolutely!" She turned to the house. "Bruno, hun?!" She called. A Latino man walked out of the house. He gasped when he saw his son, and ran to hug him. "Do you have any gasoline for this young lady?" The wife asked. The man said yes and headed off to the garage. He came back with a red canister. I showed him the tank and filled me up.

I met his sisters, to, They were… adorable.

Right before I left, Daniel gave me a hug. "Thank you, thank you so much." He had tears in his eyes.

"No problem." I wiped his eyes and kissed his forehead. We all said our goodbyes, and I was back on the road.

_Right now_

After I finished talking about Daniel, I realized how hungry I was. "I need food."

"You really haven't changed, have you?" Said Raph.

"Nope!" I called back. I lifted up her arms and yawned, and that's when everybody saw it. My shirt lifted up a bit, and they saw the blue, purple, and black marks that completely coated my lower back.

"Emily!" Donnie called. I turned around, "hmn?"

"Lift up the back of your shirt."

"Um… why?" I said, trying to act confused. Donnie's face turned red, realising how weird what he just said had sounded. "Just trust me."

With a scared look on my face, I turned around and lifted up the back of my shirt, and the marks were visible once again. "Emily, what _is _that?" Donnie said.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." I turned around and went into the kitchen. Donnie and April followed me.

"Emily, it could be something serious! Please tell me." Donnie begged.

I grabbed an apple and paused. "They're burn marks, Donnie. From tazer guns and electricity shocks and stuff. But I'm ok, really." I sat cross legged on the counter and bit into the apple.

"Did they do anything else too you?" April asked.

Pause. "Okay, I'm gonna be completely honest with you guys… I was more of a lab rat over there than a prisoner. They did tons of experiments on me, but they thought none of them worked, and they kept doing more and more."

"They thought? And what kind of experiments did they do on you?" Donnie asked frantically.

"They thought none of the the tests worked, but I know they did. I got a second mutation. As for experiments… that was like, pouring different kinds of mutagen over me and injecting things into my blood-"

"What?!" Donnie flipped. "I gotta see what they did too you." Donnie grabbed my arm, but I quickly drew back.

"Tommorow. I swear to god, tomorrow afternoon. I just wanna go 12 hours without someone sticking a needle in my arm. Please."

Donnie bit his lip. "Fine."

I sighed with relief. "Thanks." I dug the hooks on my fangs into my apple. "Plus, that ride tuckered me out."

We walked back out to the living room, to be met with 4 pairs of concerned eyes. "What were the marks?" Leo asked in his deep voice. Donnie told them what I said while I finished the apple. "Im gonna check her blood tomorrow, but for now, let's just all take it easy."

I sat back down onto the couch and Mikey immediately clung himself back onto Me. Cutie. "Wait…" I said. "Where am I gonna sleep?"

"She can sleep in our room!" Mikey and Donnie said at the same time.

"And I don't mind having my own room," April said, giggling at their immediate reaction.

"Well, I guess we have that figured out." I smiled and wrapped my arm around Mikey.

_**Donnie's POV **_

Throughout the rest of the night, we all hung out in the living room. Mikey and Emily never let go of each others hands.

Remember how I said that the house seemed silent without her around?

The first time Em let out that loud, warm laugh that she had, I knew that it would never be like that again.


	16. Nothing but a Patrol Night

Life with four teenage, mutant turtle, ninja boys… where do I start?

"Patrol! Come on guys!" Leo called out. We all got our weapons and followed him out the door. I spun my axe around as we ran through the tunnels, just for fun. I've learned to spin it so fast that the head was just a silver and red blur. I was the only one of our clan who didn't use a Asian weapon, for an axe is a medieval arm. That just made me stand out more, right?

There had been recent Foot clan activity in one similar area, so that's where we were going.

"Up here!" Leo popped the manhole and climbed topside, with us following. I was practically bouncing on my heels with excitement. Fighting the Foot was always fun when you're in a good mood.

We climbed the nearest building to get a birds eye view of the area around us. Sure enough, Dogpound and Fishface were on a lower rooftop, about two buildings away. We started over there, but I stopped everybody when we were above them. "Leo, can I lead, just this once?"

He glared at me, but sighed. "Fine…"

I jumped and smiled. "Okay, everybody huddle." I started to explain the plan.

"Okay, everybody got it?" I said once I finished explaining. Everybody nodded. Raph had an evil smirk on his face. "Alright, let's go."

We all jumped off the roof and fell into place, still unseen. I was behind Dogpound, and Mikey was to my left, and he was behind Fishface. Directly in front of me was Leo, and then Donnie was in front of Mikey. Raph was on the other side of the roof, to my right. I nodded to Mikey and we started to slowly walk.

We both tapped the two mutant's shoulders. They spun around-

And that's when the fun began.

Mikey and I each planted a powerful kick to the Foot warrior's stomachs, sending them them backwards. That's where Donnie and Leo came in. They each did the same, but sending them to the side. During that short period of time, I had moved next to Raph. We each laid a hard punch in their backs, and sending them off the roof. My hand was bleeding from the spikes on Dogpound's back, but besides that, it was pretty awesome. We all cheered and high-threed. (Yes, I have five fingers, but it's just easier to call it that.)

We heard groaning from the roof below us. Dogpound and Fishface were still awake.

_Crap. _

They crawled back up and stood in front us, and they didn't look happy. "Well it was fun while it lasted," I exhaled. We all readied our weapons.

Fishface took me head on. "Funny," I said. "I don't remember ordering Sushi. Do any of you guys?" My brothers just snicked and shook their heads no. I shrugged, "Oh well." My axe chinged against Fishface's metal leg. The large fish snarled and charged again. I swiftly dodged, a bored expression on my face. Raph came over. "Need any help?"

"Sure." We both charged. With me and Raph fighting Fishbutt, and Leo, Donnie, and Mikey with Doggy Boy, this shouldn't be too long of a fight.

Raph cried out when Fishface planted a hard kick to Raph's plastron. I drew in a sharp breath through my teeth and through a left-hook at Fishface's jaw. "One for one," I said, shrugging. "It's only fair. Yet again, when do I ever play fair?" Raph was up now, and he helped me punch Fishface. Both our fists put so much force on him that he fell off the roof. I just cracked up.

The other guys had just finished finished up with Dogpound. I laughed even harder when he flapped his arms, trying to keep himself from falling. He failed, if you didn't catch that already.

"That was like, clearing a video game on easy!" Mikey exclaimed.

We all started home. Raph and I had our arms draped around each other. "How 'ya feelin'?" I asked, noticing the look of discomfort he had.

"It's sore… but I'll be fine." He touched the place where Fishface had kicked him. I reached up to my shoulder and touched Raph's hand.

"Oh my gosh, Emily!" Donnie gasped and grabbed my right hand. "You're bleeding!"

There was a large gash across my knuckles, covered in both dry and wet blood. Donnie held it in between his two hands, as if it was a precious orb that could burst at any moment.

I had my left arm draped around the red masked turtle, and my right hand with the purple clad turtle.

Turtle. Turtle, turtle, turtle. My brothers are turtles. My father is a rat.

I'm never gonna get a college degree. I'm never going to grow up to be a doctor, or a lawyer… heck, I'm not even gonna be a McDonald's worker. I'm gonna grow up to be a butt-kicking vigilante that fights evil Japanese warriors and aliens from another dimension. I'm gonna grow up with four mutant turtles and a rat…

And I love them all. There's nothing else I wanna be but that.


	17. Gashes and Marks

We all stood to position, our weapons drawn and teeth gritted. Shredder stood in front of us, the metal claw-like knifes on his gauntlets extended. Even through his kabuto, I could see his eyes focusing on the five of us. I quickly spun my axe, hoping to show him that I had control. That I knew what I was doing.

We had been on any regular patrol night, but of course, we ran into none other than the Shredder. Our worst enemy yet.

We charged. I could hear my heart pumping as adrenaline rushed through me.

We were all stronger than what we were when we first encountered Shredder. _A lot _stronger. _We could win this. _

"No wonder you're such horrible fighters when you're raised by scum like Hamato Yoshi," Shredder said in his thundering voice. I took the chance to trip him with my axe. "Oops, look at that, you spoke too soon."

He got up, infuriated, and drew his claws down toward my head. "GAH!" I managed to catch the blow with the handle on my axe, and gave him a powerful kick to the chest. He landed by Donnie, who hit Shredder on the exposed skin on his arms with his staff. Shredder turned around and threw Donnie a good ten feet.

"HEY!" Mikey through the chain on his nunchaku. It wrapped around his wrist. Mikey jerked him back, but Shredder threw his arm forward, sending Mikey flying. I attacked again, but cried out in pain when Shredder threw me over his head and I landed on my back. _Hard._

Leo ran over and sliced the metal plate on Shredder's chest with his katanas. He helped me up when Shredder stumbled back. "'You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," I smirked. "Now let's wipe this guy clean."

Leo and I each smiled evilly at each other and ran to Shredder. He was now being ganged up on by Raph, Mikey, and Donnie. We joined.

Shredder was losing. Even he knew that. That's why he started to cut.

It started when he lashed out at Donnie. His claws cut into Donnie's shoulder. Donnie cried out and stumbled back.

"DONNIE!" I yelled. When I turned my head, Shredder lashed out at my face, busting open one of the two scars I had on my lip. The force tossed me back, and I landed on my rump.

I caught sight of Donnie. He was clutching his shoulder, and the look of terror in his eyes was enough to make my blood run cold. Mikey was on the ground now, tears in his eyes and he was holding his forearm.

_That finished me. _I wiped my lip with the back of my hand and sprung to my feet, crashing the blade of my axe down onto Shredder's metal armor, making his ears ring. Leo's cheek was bleeding and blood dripped down Raph's leg. Then, Shredder cut my jacket and sliced through the flesh on my arm.

_He cut my jacket. _

Before I continue, I just wanna tell you why I'm so attached to my leather jacket. It was my mom's, the only thing that I have left of my parents. I had since the day I arrived at St. Mary's. It's been thirteen years since that day, and I'm letting go just yet.

I raised my axe above my head and brought it down onto the metal on Shredder's chest, making another mark. I did two more, and the scratches ended up making an _E. _I smirked.

Donnie and Mikey were up. Shredder looked down at the metal plate on his chest, fuming.

He lost it.

Within seconds, Donnie and Raph were down, unconscious. Leo and Mikey were not far behind. Figuring that he was gonna claw me next, I started to move out of the way. But I was too late. He knocked me back and cut a gash into my head.

I could feel the warm blood dripping down my forehead and cheek. Shredder turned away and started to leave.

I somehow gave myself enough power to get back on my feet and pick up my axe. Shredder turned around.

I lashed out and brought my axe blade down onto his bare forearm. He looked at his gash, and then back up at me. I pointed to my face, showing him the scar he had given me so long ago. "_We're even," _I said, my tone of voice stone cold.

I kicked him in the chest, and he flew off the roof.

I cried out in pain when the blade on his gauntlet slashed my stomach. Blood gushed through the wound.

Blood. That's the first thing I noticed when I turned to my brothers. Then I blacked out.

When I opened my eyes, I was back home. I was on the infirmary bed that was in Donnie's lab, and I could feel the stitches in my head, arm, and lip. Donnie was sitting in a chair next to me, his head resting on the bed and his hand in mine. I discovered that he wasn't actually sleeping when I squeezed his hand, and he jumped so badly that he fell out of his chair. I just laughed. I know, I'm heartless.

"Emily! Hi!" Donnie said, smiling so big that I could see beyond his adorkable gap.

"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice gruff.

"About a day," Donnie replied, stroking my forehead.

I saw the cut on his shoulder. "Donnie, y-your shoulder," I said in a hoarse voice.

He kissed my head. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." He paused for a second. "Y-You were a lot worse."

I looked at him, confused, until I remembered how Shredder had cut my stomach as he went down. I raised my head and lifted up my shirt to look.

The cut was all stitched up, but it was still pretty bad. "It was deep," Donnie said. I looked up and saw a small amount of tears in his eyes. I just took his hand. "I'm okay." He smiled and laid his head on my shoulder. "Wait," I said. "Everybody was knocked out when I went down. How did we get home?"

"I woke up and called April. She and Casey helped me get you guys home."

I smiled. "You guys always come through."


	18. I Just Like the Rain!

One thing that I always loved about New York was it's gray skies and rainy days. I never knew why, I just loved the look of the sky and the smell of the air. It was gloomy, but it was pretty. I lay my back, one leg straight and the other was bent. I was just staring at the sky I had just described. I remember Elmer yelling at me to go inside because I would be sitting on the roof in the middle of the storm. I would sing to myself and let myself get really soaked.

The faint sound of thunder boomed from not to far away. From what I could tell, it'll rain any minute.

"What are you doing?" I looked up to see Leo.

I just laid my head back down. "Waiting for the storm."

"Why?"

"I like the rain." Leo just shrugged and laid down next to me. "Ever think that clouds look down on people and think 'hey! That one looks like an idiot!'" I said, making Leo and I laugh. Faint drops began to fall.

I emitted a quick, sharp flame from my thumb. It sizzled in the rain and the small warm droplets fell on my chest.

The rain picked up, and the raindrops grew fatter and fatter. I could feel my body temperature dropping, but I didn't mind. Leo, on the other hand, was shivering. I let him snuggle into my side. Even though my body temperature was low, I was still around 100 degrees fahrenheit, while Leo was at about 90 something. He was a mix of warm and cold blood. I took off my jacket and laid it on top of Leo, feeling relief as the cold water hit my exposed my arms. "Is that any better?" I asked Leo.

"Yeah," Leo said. His head was resting on my shoulder and his eyes were closed. He smiled when I kissed his nose. "We're gonna catch colds," he grumbled.

"Not if you keep next to me," I said. "I'm warm."

We stayed there for a little bit, until a bolt of lightning came dangerously close. I sighed. "We should head back." Leo and I got up and I slung my jacket over my shoulder, not bothering to put it back on. We started across a the rooftop and down the fire escape. Leo had his hand in mine. He wasn't afraid or anything, if he was scared or something like that, I would be able to tell. He just held my hand.

"The guys are gonna ask why the heck we're all wet, you know that, right?" Leo said.

"Eh, whatever." I said as we started down the tunnel. "We had fun."

It was a few hours after me and Leo had gotten home. Yes, I had been cold and wet, but I just wanted to be in the rain! So after a while, Splinter allowed me to go for a walk through the tunnels. Mikey jogged along, clinging to my side whenever the sewer got a little too dark. He brought his skateboard with him.

"Here, you can start riding around. I'm gonna sit down." I patted his shell and sat on my knees under a sewer grate, letting the light rain fall on my head and shoulders.

"'Kay!" He threw his skateboard to the ground and pushed off. I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes.

It could've been ten minutes or an hour later, I wasn't sure, but my eyes snapped open when I heard Mikey scream.

"Mikey!" I jumped to my feet and he ran into me, tightly wrapping his arms around my torso. "There was this noise!" He cried. "It kept happening and it got louder and louder and it was so dark and I couldn't see anything-"

"Shh…" I whispered, caressing his cheek with my thumb. "I gotcha, Mikey. You're fine." I kissed his head. "Do you want me to check it out?"

He nodded, his head still in my chest. Mikey grabbed my hand and stayed behind me while I walked. "Em? Why are you all wet?"

I let out a short laugh. "I was sitting under the sewer grate. I like the rain."

He just laughed. "H-Here's the place," Mikey said, leaning into me. "It was behind the pipe."

I drew my axe and neared the area, preparing for the worst. I jumped and Mikey screeched when there was a loud rattling noise coming from an upside down crate. I carefully flipped the crate, and…

Two rats scurried away. They had been trapped under the wooden box, and the sound that Mikey heard was them clawing the crate, attempting to escape.

Mikey sighed. "Thanks."

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and gave him something like a hug. "No prob'."

We started back home. "Why do you like the rain? Because you're still wet," Mikey said.

I laughed. "Gray skies are pretty. I've always liked them."


	19. It's Okay to Be Different

I crashed through the manhole and scurried down the ladder. None of the turtles were in the sewer tunnel, but that was okay. I had memorized the way to the lair, so I just walked there.

"MIKEY!" I could hear Leo call out as I neared the entrance. I picked up my feet and started running.

"Is everything okay?!" I asked when I reached the door.

"We can't find Mikey," Raph grumbled, looking under a couch cushion.

"He's been missing for half an hour!" Donnie exclaimed. "He's nowhere to be found!"

"Do guys know _why _he's missing?" I said. "Or at least have an idea?" The three brothers frowned and look to the floor. I crossed my arms across my chest. "Hmph. Seems like we have _that _figured out." I started toward the dojo.

"We already checked there!" Leo yelled at me.

"Then I'm checking again!" I called back as I closed the door. I stood there for a moment, seeing if I could see or hear something. I started to walk to Splinter's room, but I turned around when the sound of a small, sharp sob come from what I thought was the tree. I turned around and started to climb up.

Once I reached a branch, I saw Mikey. The small six-year-old's carapace was pressed up against the trunk of the tree and his knees were pulled to his chest, with his head buried in them. I climbed over to him. "Mikey?" I said, gently putting a hand onto his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Oh, uh, hey Emmy!" He said, wiping his eyes. "J-just sitting here. What's up?" He smiled.

But I didn't buy it. "Here, let's get down." He grabbed my hand and jumped down with me. We landed on our knees. "Mikey," I said quietly. "What's wrong."

His face flushed red with embarrassment, and he bit his lip, fighting back the tears that were forming in his eyes. "C'mon, Mikester, you can tell me anything. You're safe with me," I said with a small smile.

He broke down. Mikey put his head in the crook of my neck and wrapped his arms around my neck, sobbing. I hugged him close, letting him cry. "Aww, Mikey…" I cooed, rubbing his carapace.

He let go. "Why am I so different?" He said, letting out a small sob.

"Different?" I asked. "How?"

"I'm always m-messing up. I've done it so much that my brothers don't love me anymore." He cried, rubbing his puffy eyes. "I-I tripped over something Donnie was making, a-and I b-broke it. Then I fe-ell onto the game thing, a-and I broke that t-to. They all got re-eally mad at me, a-and they don't love me anymore." He fell onto my chest and cried even harder. "I'm so di-ifferent from them! I hate it!"

"Mikey," I kissed his head. "Your brothers will never stop loving you. Even if you did break something. And if anybody knows what it feels like to be foreign, it would be me," I said, pointing to the scar that I hadn't gotten that long ago. Ever since then, it felt like I was being shunned even more from the kids at the orphanage.

"F-foreign?" Mikey asked, looking up at me. I wiped his eyes with my thumb. "It's like… another word for different. And yes Mikey, you are different, but in a _good _way. All your brothers are. You're all foreign from one another."

"Really?"

"Yes, Mikey, really. And you're still loved. Splinter loves you. Leo, Raph, and Donnie love you. _I _love you." I kissed his nose. "I love you I love you I love you."

He laughed and kissed my cheek. "I love you to, Emmy."

Leo, Raph, and Donnie came in. "Mikey!" They all yelled in happy unison. The three turtles ran in and gave their youngest brother a hug. Yes, even Raph.

"Sorry for breaking your stuff," Mikey said, looking at the floor.

"Ah, don't worry," Donnie bent down and kissed Mikey on the forehead, making him smile. "I can fix it."

"Yeah, no worries!" Leo said. Raph smiled and patted Mikey's shoulder.

"Do you guys still love me?" Mikey asked. The boys looked shocked.

"'Course we do!" Raph said. Mikey smiled, looking relieved.

"See Mikey," I said. "I told you!"

Mikey laughed and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know…"


	20. Ren and Daiki

We had all been on our nightly patrol, when I heard something coming from ground level. So I peeked over, and I saw what looked like two little kids, huddled in the cold. Seeing the poor little things filled my heart with sorrow. When my brothers weren't paying attention to me, I went down the fire escape to scope out the scene.

It was two kids, a boy and a girl, huddled together. They each had thick, black hair, and appeared to be Japanese. The girl, who I'm guessing was about six, was holding the crying boy, who I'm guessing was about four. I got a little closer.

"Hey," I whispered, putting a smile on my face. The two kids looked up, and gasped.

"Are you gonna eat us?!" The boy asked through his tears.

"What?" I said, surprised. "Oh, no! I wanna help you! W-why would I eat you?"

"You have vampire teeth!" The boy said again.

"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot about that, didn't I?" I said with a small laugh. The boy loosened up, but curled into the girl. "Are you guys lost?" I asked.

"Y-yeah," the girl said, rubbing the boy's back. "We went for a walk… and we don't know how to get home."

"I can take you home, is that okay with you?" I asked. The girl eagerly nodded. "Awesome," I said with a smile. "Who do you live with?"

"Our daddy," the boy said. "We live with our daddy."

"Does your daddy have a name?" I picked up the boy, assuming that he was too scared to walk.

"Saki," the girl grabbed my hand.

"Is his last name Oroku?" I asked, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

"Yup, that's it." The girl said.

"Shredder has kids?" I said quietly enough so that only I would hear it. My phone started to ring. I let go of the girls hand to answer it. "Yeah?"

It was Raph's voice. "Em! Where are you!? Leo's goin' insane!"

I rolled my eyes. "I found a few lost kids. I'm takin' 'em home. I'll meet you guys back at the house."

"Jeez, next time can 'ya tell us when you're gonna disappear into midair?!" Raph said. "Well, we'll meet 'cha at home. Bye."

"Bye, Raph." I put my phone away and grabbed the girl's hand. "Who was that?" She asked.

I laughed. "My hot-headed brother." We continued to walk.  
"I have a brother too!" She said. "That's him," she pointed to the young boy in my arm. "His name is Daiki."

I turned to face the boy, who was looking at me. "Hello, Daiki." He smiled. I went to face the girl. "What's your name?"

"My name is Ren. It means 'water lily'. And Daiki means 'impressive or grand tree'." She said with a smile.

"You both have beautiful names," I stroked Ren's hair. "My name is Emiliah, but you can call me Emily."

"What does Emily mean?" Daiki asked me.

"I think it means 'one who flatters and hard-working'. But I just got that off a website." Daiki laughed.

My motherly instincts kicked in when I noticed that Ren was in short-sleeves, with no coat. "Ren, aren't you cold?!"

"Yeah, but I gave Daiki my coat."

I sighed. "Here," I set Daiki down and gave Ren my jacket. "Wear this while we walk."

"But aren't you cold?"

I picked Daiki up. "Nah." Me and Ren took hands and continued to walk.

Once we reached Shredder's lair, I realized that we had a problem. I didn't know if Shredder even had doors, and I was _not_ going up onto the roof and breaking a window with these guys. "Um… is there a door?"

"Yeah, follow us!" I set Daiki down so he could follow Ren. They took off and I followed them.

They took me to a small door that was implanted into the ground. We went through and I followed them through a large tunnel. Once we got out of the tunnel, we were in the main room, with the fish tank floor and Shredder's throne and everything. Shredder was sitting in his large throne, talking to Dogpound. Shredder heard me walking in. "Get her!" He yelled at Dogpound. The large dog mutant charged after me, his teeth bared.

"Chill it, dog breath," I said, putting my hand on my axe, just in case. I turned to Shredder. "I got your kids."

"Papa!" Ren gave me my jacket and ran to her dad. Daiki turned to me, "Thank you."

I bent down, so that I was eye level with him. "You are very welcome," I said, ruffling his hair. He wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me. After that, Daiki took off after his sister. I looked up to see Shredder hugging both his kids. I smiled to myself and turned around and started back to the tunnel, my axe slung over my shoulder.

"Why are you doing this?" Shredder called.

I turned around. "No one deserves to be left out in the cold, like I was." I smirked and turned around.

"Emiliah," Shredder said. I turned around again. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks!" "Thank you!" Ren and Daniki yelled.

"No prob'." I saluted and headed home.


	21. I Never Yell

I'm not one to yell. I'm not one to stomp away. Heck, I'm not even one to get mad! But tonight I lost it. Here's how it happened.

We had been alerted that there was a Foot robbery at a warehouse. Why, we didn't know, but it was still our job to stop it.

April was with us during the ambush, and towards the end of the fight she was fighting against several soldiers at once, and… she was having a little bit of trouble. Apparently, Donnie also noticed this, and being the kind soul he is, went over and took out two of the soldiers that were on April's tail.

And she was _not happy. _

"Donnie," She yelled. "I'm almost a full on kunoichi! I can fight for myself, you don't have to protect me at every single fight!" By this time, Donnie had a major blush, and he looked a little upset.

Also, during the time when April was fuming at Donnie, a Foot soldier was approaching April with his with his weapon drawn.

I quickly ran over and cut the soldier in half, just before it stabbed April. After that, she turned away from Donnie and looked at me, to see the rare scowl on my face.

"April," I said bitterly. "A _real _kunoichi would've said 'thanks' after somebody just saved their butt. And if you don't _want _to have to be protected, _make yourself not have to be. _And last of all," I pointed to the Foot soldier I had slayed. "Pay attention! While you were yelling at Donnie, that thing almost _stabbed _you!" I said "stabbed" with gritted teeth. My lips were pursed and I could feel the skin around my neck tighten.

I was _mad. _

And she knew it. "Maybe I wouldn't have to be protected if you guys would just let me be! I'm not a kid!" She gave my chest a hard shove, making me step back. The guys just stood there, gawking. I heard Mikey draw in a sharp breath.

I stepped up to her. I was a few inches taller than her, so I had to stare down. "_It's your own fault, April." _My tone of voice was stone cold. I looked up at my brothers. "I'm out of here," I said as I started down the alley.

"Em," Raph put his hand on my shoulder. I stared into his eyes. When Raph noticed there was nothing he could say to help, he just let go. I walked off down the alley.

_**Raph's POV **_

So… that just happened. Emily rarely ever got mad, and she was fuming. I put my hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her. But she had that look in her eye that just said, "leave me alone," so… I left her alone. If anybody knew that feeling, it would be me.

"Emily scares me when she gets mad," Mikey said. April still had that half furious half surprised look on her face.

"You walked right into that one, April." Leo had a displeased look on his face.

"It's her fault she went ballistic! I'm just sticking up for myself!" April argued.

"No, April, you weren't. You were being selfish. Nothing more needs to be said." Leo turned and started to walk away. We all followed him home.

Splinter greeted us when we arrived, but a questioning look came to his face when he noticed that his daughter was not with them. "My sons," he said, "Were is Emiliah?" April stomped off to her room, and Splinter followed her with his gaze. He turned back to us. "What happened."

We all took turns explaining the events of the night. A look of surprise came to my father's face when Mikey had said that Emily had yelled, for even he knew that his adoptive child is very mellow around the ones she loves.

"And she just… walked off," I finished. Splinter stroked his goatee.

He finally spoke up. "Donatello, do you have any ideas on where Emiliah may be?"

Donnie thought for a moment. "I may have an idea."

"Then go and see if you can retrieve her."

"Hai, sensei." Donnie ran out of the lair.

_**Emily's POV **_

Once I got inside the sewers, I purposely went the opposite way from the lair. I did _not _feel like answering to Splinter. I figured I'd blow off some steam before I headed home. Plus, I could go a little while without seeing April.

That last thought made me think. I started to not just be mad at April, but at myself. I shouldn't have acted that way. I wish I didn't yell. I probably scared Mikey and Donnie.

So much anger and guilt built up inside of me that I was about to scream. I needed to do something to bring me back to reality, and out of this mess in my head.

So I punched a wall.

And I immediately regretted it.

After my hard blow, I drew my hand back as quick as I could. Tears pricked my eyes as I examined my bloody and broken hand, and the stain that was now on the wall of the tunnel. "Ahh…" I breathed, shaking my hand. I bit my lip, biting back a loud scream. What am I doing….

"Em?" I turned to see the tall figure standing before me in the tunnel. I quickly wiped my eyes. "Oh, h-hey Donnie." I looked down at the floor and rubbed the back of my neck with my good hand. "Um… s-sorry for they way I… acted earlier."

Donnie just smiled. "I'm not mad. If anything, that made me happy."

"Happy? How?" I asked as Donnie came closer.

"You stuck up for me. Plus… I was just about near tears." Donnie looked at the floor.

I smirked. "I'm always there for you, Donnie." He smiled. We started to walk home. I winced when he took my broken hand in his.

He looked at me with a questioning look, and raised my hand to look at it. He gasped when he saw the bruised and bloodied mess. "Emily! Wh… what did this?!" Donnie asked frantically. I just blushed and looked the other way. He saw the stain on the wall. "Oh…" His voice was filled with sad understanding. "Lets go home. I'll fix you up." He kissed my head and took my broken hand in his own two hands, careful not to touch the injured area. I smiled at him and we walked home.

It felt good to be happy again.


End file.
